Hybrid
by TheFrogFromHell
Summary: Sequel to "HUMAN" and "MONSTER". Takes place 9 years after "MONSTER" ends. Mewtwo/Misty. Longer summary inside. COMPLETE!
1. Challenge!

SUMMARY: Nine years after Mewtwo returned to civilization, his daughter, Cameron, began her pokemon journey. Now, to her parents' dismay, the sixteen-year-old's psychic powers are out of control, but she just sees them as an easy ride to Indigo Plateau. Meanwhile, Giovanni has managed to escape from imprisonment, and he has bought out the Saffron City corporation, Silph Co., for dark, mysterious reasons that only he knows. At the same time, the clones that Mewtwo created on New Island have discovered he has a half human daughter… and they are not happy. In the conclusion to this trilogy, the destinies of Cameron, Mewtwo, Misty, and others will be revealed. Will Cameron's dangerous tendencies be curbed, or will her unrestrained psychic abilities threaten the world?

Author's Note: It's here! This is the final, and, possibly, the best, installment in this trilogy. Here is an important concept to note before you begin reading:

This story takes place almost entirely in GAMEVERSE. That means, the events that may have occurred in the anime in Saffron City and other places are being disregarded for the purposes of this story (the exceptions are the characters of Ash, Misty, and Mewtwo, and, of course, the events of _Pokemon: The First Movie_). I want to make this clear, because there will be events in this story that contradict occurrences that happened only in the anime. I have chosen to write in the gameverse because I believe it leaves more room for creativity and character development.

I will post a new chapter every Monday night at approximately 5 pm, unless otherwise stated. Enjoy, and, remember: REVIEWS are my writer's rocket fuel!

~TheFrogFromHell

**Prologue**

_The Celadon City Times_

_May 21, 2007_

_VIRIDIAN GYM LEADER GIOVANNI SORRENTINO FOUND 'NOT GUILTY' OF KIDNAPPING AND NEGLIGENCE CHARGES_

_After three months of deliberation, it has been decided that Viridian's gym leader of 19 years, Giovanni Sorrentino, 47, is innocent on all counts._

_Earlier this year, Mr. Sorrentino had been accused of kidnapping and negligence regarding several pokemon involved in a laboratory experiment, which was reportedly performed in Cinnabar Island's reconstructed facility. Rumors circulated that the gym leader had employed unlicensed scientists to perform a complicated resurrection procedure, which was said to have resulted in unnecessary pain and suffering for the pokemon involved._

_Also, there was some confusion regarding the kidnapping and presence of Cerulean City gym leader, Misty Ketchum, and her daughter, Cameron Ketchum, at the scene of the alleged experiment. However, Ms. Ketchum declined to testify, and it remains unclear whether she was involved in the procedure or not._

_The judge's decision was made on Thursday, clarifying that these rumors were, in fact, only rumors._

"_I was using the lab to do pokemon research with my colleagues," Sorrentino commented regarding the verdict, "this whole thing is ridiculous; I would never engage in any act harmful to the wellbeing of any pokemon. It's not in my nature."_

_The gym leader declined to comment about Misty Ketchum. Reportedly, bail for Mr. Sorrentino cost upwards of 10 million dollars. _

**Chapter 1**

"WAAAAAAARRRGGGH!"

The Karate King's battle cry was thunderous, and, coupled with the loud "CRUNCH" of his splitting a three inch thick wooden board in half with his foot, it was nearly deafening. After each victory, the Karate King celebrated by breaking something, Cameron noticed.

She was surrounded by enormous men, fully clad in martial arts garb, bellowing orders at their fighting type pokemon, who, with their tough expressions and huge muscles, were almost indistinguishable from their trainers. Cameron gathered that once a challenger entered the dojo, he (or she, Cameron figured, but there were no other females in sight) had to first defeat a lineup of gym trainers before he could advance to face the King.

Cameron looked at the first trainer in the line, who stood near the entrance of the gym. He was battling a scrawny boy who appeared about eight, ten years old at the most, but she knew he had to be older in order to be a pokemon trainer. The boy was losing miserably; he was down to his last pokemon and had not managed to knock out even a single one of the gym trainer's.

Cameron adjusted her dark glasses and surveyed the dojo, checking out all of the trainer's pokemon she could see battling. _Machoke, level thirty-eight… Hitmonlee, level forty-two… Primeape, level forty…_ She smirked. _Piece of cake._

Mew must have heard what Cameron was thinking, because it decided to comment from inside its pokeball.

_It's only going to be a piece of cake if you cheat,_ Cameron heard in her mind. _Besides me, your pokemon are only at level twenty-five and lower, and I'm not helping because I'm still mad at you for yesterday._

Cameron sighed. Why did Mew have to be so difficult? Yesterday was _so_ not a big deal.

Cameron had needed to evolve her eevee into a vaporeon (yes, _needed_ to— she knew her battle with the Saffron City gym leader was coming up, so she wanted to be prepared with some powerful special attacks), but she didn't have the money, since she'd spent it all on Calciums to give to Mew to increase its special attack and defense. _And now it won't even battle for me, _she sulked.

Anyway, she'd called her mother, Misty, whom Cameron had been sure would understand, being a water pokemon trainer and all, but, to Cameron's irritation, she had refused to send her the money.

So Cameron had simply… _persuaded_ the clerk in the Celadon Department Store to "lend" her the stone. He had been convinced by her stunning good looks and charming personality (and, maybe, just a _little_ _bit_ of tampering with his brain using her psychic abilities), she was sure.

Because of that one tiny incident, Mew had given her the silent treatment the whole rest of the day. For some reason, Mew was always getting upset with Cameron lately when she used her power, claiming that she was using it for the wrong reasons, and it was starting to get on Cameron's nerves.

_Whatever, Mew, _Cameron communicated to her pokemon telepathically, _I don't need your help anyway._ Mew declined to respond.

The trainer by the door had finished battling the little boy (who was now in tears after his brutal defeat), so Cameron decided to approach him.

Standing before him, looking up at his face (the man was so huge that Cameron was dwarfed in comparison) she said confidently, "I'm here to challenge the Karate King."

"Bwahahaha," the man chortled loudly, "nice shades, sweetheart. The King will happily accept your challenge, _if_…" this portion of the trainer's introduction sounded very rehearsed and overly dramatized, "you can first defeat the five of us, in succession! That means no trips to the pokemon center in between, sweetheart. Are you sure you can handle it?"

Cameron was not enjoying this man's patronizing tone. "Stop talking and send out your first pokemon," she stated spitefully.

The man's eyes widened in mock surprise. "Well, this kid's got spunk! Your wish is my command. I just hope you can last longer than the trainer I crushed before you."

He threw his pokeball and a mankey appeared, already agitated and ready for battle.

"Go, Vaporeon!" Cameron shouted, summoning her newly evolved water pokemon.

"Interesting choice," commented the man, "Mankey, use Fury Swipes!"

"Vaporeon, Sand Attack!"

Cameron's vaporeon managed to decrease its opponent's accuracy slightly, but, unfortunately, it was also unable to evade the attack. Three swipes, and a third of Vaporeon's health points were already gone.

_Damn it,_ Cameron thought, _I guess it's time for the big guns already…_

"Water Gun!" she instructed her pokemon, and, making sure her shades fully concealed her glowing eyes, she used her own Psybeam in combination with Vaporeon's attack, disguising the psychic energy in the stream of water.

It was a one hit K.O.

The trainer was dumbfounded as his mankey collapsed, unconscious.

_What are you doing?_ Cameron heard Mew project in her mind, _that's not fair, and you know your pokemon will never get stronger that way!_

_Shut up,_ she retaliated, _I want one of those rare pokemon from the Karate King, and I'm going to get one._

Shaking his head, the trainer revealed his next pokemon— Machoke.

"Vaporeon, Quick Attack!" This time, Cameron interlaced a carefully disguised Confusion with the pokemon's physical assault.

Once again, the man's pokemon was defeated with a single blow.

His third, and final pokemon, Machamp, went down in exactly the same fashion.

"What the…" the trainer looked confused, and angry, "there's no way that thing's powerful enough to take down all of my fighters! Just look at it!"

Cameron smirked. "Looks can be deceiving," she replied.

She then went on to conquer the other four trainers in the same manner. Because their pokemon were all fighting types, all Cameron needed to do was insert a tiny bit of her psychic energy into each of her pokemon's moves, and voila— instant victory.

_That was too easy,_ she thought smugly, finally approaching the Karate King himself. He had his back to her, and he appeared to be stuffing some items into a backpack.

"Hello," Cameron called to him, "my name is Cameron Ketchum, and I'm here to challenge you!"

The man turned around slowly and yawned.

He glanced around the room at the other trainers in the gym, noticing that they were no longer battling. "You defeated all five of them?" He asked, and the inflection of surprise in his voice irritated Cameron. _Do I really look that weak?_

"Yes," she said evenly, "and now it's time for me to defeat you and claim my prize!"

The King sighed. "Okay, that's great, kid, but it's the end of the day and I'm tired. I was just packing up. You're gonna have to come back tomorrow for the battle."

Cameron was livid. She narrowed her eyes behind her shades. "But I have proved myself worthy," she argued. "You must accept my challenge!"

The Karate King chuckled. "Didn't your parents ever teach you patience? I'll tell you what— come back tomorrow at nine when we open, and I'll battle you straight up. No need to defeat my trainers again, just show up and we'll do it. Deal?"

Cameron was still frustrated, but she agreed. "Fine," she said, "nine o'clock sharp."

"See you then… wait, did you say your last name was Ketchum?" Cameron nodded unenthusiastically. "As in, Ash Ketchum? _The _Ash Ketchum?"

"Ash is… my dad," she said, although that wasn't exactly accurate.

"I thought you looked familiar!" exclaimed the King, "I still remember my battle with your father… exceptional trainer. That pikachu of his is something else!"

Cameron listened in silence, hoping he finished gushing about Ash soon. She was so sick of hearing about "The Great Ash Ketchum" as if he walked on water or something. _If he was so great, he wouldn't have up and left on me when I was seven years old,_ she thought bitterly.

She was relieved when the Karate King finished talking, and she exited the dojo as he and his trainers packed up for the day. Sighing, she sat on a bench outside the gym, plunking her backpack down beside her.

Today was the seventy-first day of Cameron's pokemon journey, and the day before her sixteenth birthday.

In just over two months, Cameron had already earned four Kanto gym badges. It would have taken even less than two months if it hadn't been for all the traveling; the gym battles certainly didn't slow her down. In fact, she could have won them all the first day.

At first, Cameron had not needed to use her power to win her battles. She had relied on Mew in the beginning; she had had it for over eight years, training with it in secret even before the start of her journey, so it was already far stronger than a normal starting pokemon. But when Mew had seen how Cameron used her powers to affect the minds of other people, it had become defiant, and Cameron didn't have enough badges to be able to control the behavior of such a strong pokemon. _It's such a hypocrite,_ Cameron thought, _it's allowed to use _its_ psychic powers, but it gets mad at me when I use mine._

_Hypocrite?_ Cameron heard in her mind,_ I don't think so. I'm not the one who uses my power to manipulate people!_

_I don't manipulate them. Most of those people would have done what I wanted them to do anyway,_ she argued lamely, but deep down she knew that wasn't true.

Suddenly, Cameron heard a buzzing sound coming from inside her backpack. She quickly unzipped the front pocket to retrieve her phone, and she rolled her eyes when she saw who the call was from.

**! Incoming call !**

**Life Wrecker**

She hit "answer" and said coolly into the phone, "Hello?"

A deep voice answered, "Cameron? This is your father. Where are you?"

"Hmm… you know, the last time I checked, you weren't my father— just some psycho that randomly showed up in my life in order to make everything harder for me."

Cameron was upset with him because she knew he'd told her mother not to give her any more money. _If it wasn't for him, I could have just bought that water stone without using my powers at all. They're rich; they could have afforded it._

Also, beyond that, it seemed that Cameron's biological dad always knew what she was up to. _It's because he's psychic, too,_ Cameron thought. He never let her get away with _anything_; he always found out when she'd used her special abilities to get her way and punished her for it by grounding her. That was another reason her journey had taken two months— twice, her father had found her and teleported her home, placing her under house arrest for several days until she got her act together.

"You should know by now that I do not appreciate harsh words. I suggest you stop attempting to anger me and consider that I am the one making decisions regarding you."

"Whatever."

There was a pause in the conversation.

Cameron's father changed the subject. "Did you battle the Karate King today?"

"No," Cameron said disappointedly, "I defeated all of his trainers, but by the time I finished it was too late. We're going to battle for real tomorrow."

"I see," he replied. Cameron detected a hint of suspicion in his tone of voice when he asked, "And which of your pokemon did you use to win?"

"Vaporeon," she said automatically, then mentally slapped herself. _Damn it! _she thought, _he's going to wonder how I got a water stone!_

"That is interesting," he commented, "your mother mentioned that you asked her to lend you the money for a water stone yesterday, but she refused. So… I am quite intrigued to discover how you managed to evolve an eevee without a stone. Please, enlighten me."

His tone of voice was dangerously calm now. It was the voice he used when he was just barely able to suppress his rage. _Shit,_ Cameron thought.

"I did use a stone," Cameron said, quickly formulating a plausible explanation. "They were having a free giveaway at the Celadon Department Store, and that's how I got it."

"I understand," her father replied, now beginning to raise his voice, "so, you simply walked into the department store, where they were giving away merchandise valued at over two thousand dollars. Cameron, stop lying to me. If there is one thing I cannot tolerate, it is dishonesty."

"I'm not lying, I swear—"

"I already instructed you to stop. I have reason to believe you used your psychic abilities to acquire that stone. Cameron, you are out of control. You are coming home. Tomorrow."

His tone was firm, and Cameron could tell the decision was final.

"I will be arriving in Saffron in the morning to collect you. Also, I find it prudent to mention that the birthday plans we discussed last week are now cancelled. You will celebrate your birthday at home with myself and your mother, but that is all."

_What? He's got no right to do that! He doesn't even have any proof I'm lying! _Cameron thought frantically, although it was entirely possible he'd read her thoughts.

"But, Dad—"

"Pack your things, Cameron. Good night."

He hung up the phone.

"Rrrrrrrr!" Cameron exclaimed angrily, snapping the phone shut and kicking her heels against the bench. A petite, pigtailed blond woman dressed in all pink gave Cameron a strange look as she walked past her.

_How can he do that to me? It's my sixteenth birthday! I'm never going to turn sixteen again, ever! _Cameron was beyond miserable.

Then, she had a thought. Composing herself, she stood up and grabbed her backpack.

_I don't care what my dad says,_ Cameron decided resolutely, _tomorrow is my sweet sixteen… and I'm gonna make it sweet. _

She started towards downtown Saffron, unaware of the presence lurking behind her in the bushes.

…..

_So this is Mewtwo's daughter, _thought the rapidash to itself, concealed by the brush. _She seems just like a normal human, _it noted with disgust. _I must inform the others she is in town. _The fiery horse then disappeared to go search for its companions.


	2. Misty's Wish

Author's Note:

Sorry guys, this is kind of a short chapter. I'll make it up to you with the next one; it's extra long. Thank you to the 2 (out of 46 visitors… come on, people, that's a terrible ratio!) of you who reviewed!

**PikaMewGirl:** Yay! I'm glad you love it. It is kind of a semi "original trainer" type story, so I wasn't sure that would go over well.

**StarWriterWG: **Yes, Cameron is a brat. I agree, she was better at 7, but there was a little hint of it even back then (I did go back and improve the first 2 chapters of "Monster" to better reflect this… now up if you want to take a look). And there is a Giovanni chapter coming up… I think things will be better explained at that point. I'm sorry, I couldn't leave him out of this story… he's just too much fun to write! I think I must be evil deep down, because the villains are always the most entertaining (and easiest) to write.

On a side note: I am creating some official-looking book covers for these stories. I haven't drawn anime in years, so it went a bit like this: draw a line… erase… erase… erase… draw… erase. Anyway, they're the best I could do. The one for "Monster" is already uploaded, and the other two will be coming soon.

As always, read, enjoy, and please let me know what you think!

~TheFrogFromHell

**Chapter 2**

"I will be arriving in Saffron in the morning to collect you. Also, I find it prudent to mention that the birthday plans we discussed last week are now cancelled. You will celebrate your birthday at home with myself and your mother, but that is all."

Misty studied her lover as he conversed with their daughter on the phone. She could tell by his harsh tenor and the deep crease between his eyebrows that he was livid, and it was probably all he could do to keep his voice as calm as it was.

"Pack your things, Cameron. Good night." Mewtwo finished, hanging up the phone.

He made a noise of frustration.

"I may have spent years learning to harness my anger, but something about our daughter's selfish, irresponsible behavior always causes it to resurface," he said to Misty.

"Don't be so hard on her," Misty said defensively, "she's only fifteen, and she's just trying to get along on her own out there. Pokemon journeys can be trying sometimes, and getting through those challenges yourself is what builds character and makes you a better trainer."

"Misty, believe me when I tell you that she is having no difficulty whatsoever in her endeavors. She is using her power to make everything expedient and simple for herself. Perhaps you experienced "character building" during _your_ journey, but for Cameron this is simply an opportunity to manipulate others in order to claim what she desires. It is exactly the way I behaved when I was young, before I understood how to use my abilities responsibly. It is sickening."

"But Mewtwo," Misty argued, "Cameron would never use her powers to harm anyone, like you were planning to back then. She's not capable of that. She just wants to win pokemon battles. Is that really such a big deal?"

Mewtwo sighed. "I believe your affection for our daughter is inhibiting your rational thinking. Also, although there is no way of knowing for certain, I suspect she has tampered with your mind on numerous occasions. Your sense of reality is inaccurate."

_Tampered with? What is he talking about? Of course my reality is accurate! _Mewtwo's comment offended Misty. "No it isn't! Cameron would never do that!"

Mewtwo looked at her seriously. "Perhaps you are right. Perhaps Cameron _is_ only using her power to help her win battles, which is a problem in itself. But what happens when she does not stop there? What if she discovers some of the more dangerous uses of her psychic abilities?" Misty opened her mouth to comment, but Mewtwo held up his hand to stop her. "I know this may seem unbelievable to you, but within her, Cameron holds the same potential that I nearly used to destroy the world seventeen years ago. When power like that is left unchecked, it can have disastrous consequences, some of which I have experienced first hand."

Misty considered his words. _Is that really true? _she thought, a little alarmed. _Could Cameron really be capable of what Mewtwo almost did? _Misty was still very skeptical, but even if there was a tiny possibility Cameron could behave that way, the situation was something to be treated with caution.

"Misty… I believe it would be wise to postpone Cameron's journey for now. She needs to learn to use her power properly before she does something irreversible, something that could lead to her discovery… and my discovery."

Misty nodded. _It's more important that Mewtwo stays hidden now than ever, _she thought.

"So what do we do? How do we solve this problem?" Misty inquired.

"Tomorrow I am going to Saffron City to retrieve her," Mewtwo explained. "She needs to be mentored by a psychic— one powerful enough to keep her under control. Although I may not be an ideal candidate, I am the only one I know of in existence that equals her in strength. I must be the one to train her."

Misty frowned. _Oh, boy,_ she thought fretfully, _Cameron is not going to like that._

Cameron and Mewtwo did not get along.

When she had lived at home, the two of them had fought constantly, and it had driven Misty off the wall. Not to mention the countless expensive household objects that Cameron's telekinesis had destroyed during her bouts of rage directed at her father. Part of the reason Misty and Mewtwo had allowed her to leave on her journey at fifteen was so they wouldn't have to deal with all the fighting that was bound to continue if she'd stayed at home. _Maybe it's something about two psychics living together,_ Misty guessed.

But in actuality, Misty knew it had something to do with the circumstances surrounding Cameron's introduction to her real father. Even though her daughter had already known that Ash wasn't her biological dad, the girl had been devastated when he'd suddenly moved out. And when Mewtwo had moved in shortly after, she hadn't known what to make of it, Misty was sure. _It must have seemed really confusing and strange, from her perspective,_ Misty thought, and it made her feel more than a little guilty about the whole situation.

Mewtwo had wanted to teach lessons to Cameron about how to use her power to its full potential, but the girl had objected to them. "I want to do things my own way," she had insisted stubbornly. Unfortunately, "her own way" had meant butting heads with Mewtwo almost incessantly, and that had created an unpleasant dynamic for Misty. She had felt like she was being pulled in two directions when she was around both of them; she loved her daughter, but she also respected her significant other's opinions and wanted to support him.

"Mewtwo, are you sure that's a good idea? I really don't know if Cameron will take kindly to you telling her what to do. I just don't want you two to fight all the time like before."

Mewtwo gazed at her with reluctance in his violet eyes. "I realize the set of circumstances is not ideal," he admitted, "but I see no alternative. Her careless, self-seeking behavior cannot continue. It is a danger to her and to others."

Misty nodded halfheartedly. "Just one more thing," she added, "how are you going to continue… your _responsibilities_ with her here? How will you have the time?"

"I will have to learn to manage my time effectively," Mewtwo acknowledged, "and, as I previously stated, there is no other alternative."

Misty looked at the clock. It was half past ten. _I need to get to bed,_ she thought. After her old boss at Pokemon Tech, Mr. Holmes, had lured her into Team Rocket's trap, she had left her teaching job there and returned to leading the Cerulean City gym. She enjoyed her work, but it did mean waking up very early in the morning to get everything ready for the challenging trainers.

"You're leaving tomorrow morning?" Misty asked Mewtwo.

"Yes. I plan to depart before you awaken. I estimate the journey will last several hours."

"Well… in that case… you're going to have to say goodbye to me tonight," Misty said, looking up at him suggestively.

"I suppose I will."

They kissed each other fervently, Misty embracing the wonderful, intense heat she felt radiating from her lover's body. It was amazing how, after nine years together, the sensation of his form against hers was so familiar, yet it still excited her every bit as much as the very first time.

She moaned as his hands explored her body and his lips left wet, heated kisses on her lips, cheeks, and jaw.

Misty decided she needed to feel his soft skin, and she slid her hands underneath his shirt, savoring the experience of tracing her fingers over his lean, muscular body.

He could sense her arousal, and he pulled away from her, gazing knowingly into her eyes.

Mewtwo was unbelievably attractive in his human form, and his appearance never ceased to astonish Misty. His dark hair beautifully contrasted his pale, smooth skin, and his fierce amethyst eyes pierced her soul. They peered at her hungrily now, as if he was a hunter who had finally cornered his prey.

"Bedroom," he growled, and she nodded readily.


	3. The Boss's Way

Author's Note:

I have decided to change my posting day to Friday at 5 pm. So you get two chapters this week! As I promised, this one is longer than the last one. Thanks to those who reviewed!

**StarWriterWG: **Agreed, there is an abundance of PDA (private displays of affection) in this trilogy. But alas, where would this series be without interspecies romance? The most recent revision of "Monster" is not all that different from the original. Most of the edits are in the first 2-3 chapters, with the rest of the fic left virtually the same (however, the "Human" revision is a different story… pun intended). And hmmm… _Your _Mewtwo series, huh? Where might I find this piece of literature?

**Elvis-Stitch: **Thanks for your review and for your kind comments! My fan fiction pet peeve is when characters are written OOC, so I try my hardest to keep that in check. I hope this chapter lives up to your expectations!

Anyway, weirdly, I really enjoyed writing this chapter… Feedback is always welcome.

~TheFrogFromHell

**Chapter 3**

_Just what I need— another goddamn envelope,_ Giovanni thought resentfully as Domino delivered his mail to his Silph Co. office.

He had just managed to create less than a square foot of working space on the surface of his huge mahogany desk, and now the new addition to his extensive collection of paper clutter already threatened to infringe upon it.

Tens, maybe even a hundred white envelopes marked "IMPORTANT!" lay unopened on Giovanni's writing table, and there were another fifty or so in his top drawer.

They were mostly bills— bills that Giovanni didn't have the money to pay.

The rest were warnings from his lawyer, stating that his fees were long overdue, or letters from the bank regarding overdrawn accounts, or other glaring indications of his severe financial turmoil.

He may have gotten out of jail, but it definitely hadn't been free.

After the incident on Cinnabar Island, which Giovanni preferred not to think about, he had awakened in a hospital bed, at first disoriented, and then hit with a devastating sense of failure. Mewtwo had escaped him— again. But that hadn't even been the worst part.

He still remembered the sheer horror of trying to get out of bed, and realizing that his legs wouldn't move; they didn't work anymore.

Giovanni was a cripple.

His howls and desperate cries had summoned every nurse on the floor to his room to try to calm him down. In his uncontrollable rage, he had managed to punch one of them in the face, and soon after that he was transferred to the psychiatric unit.

He'd remained there for a week, sleeping in a gray room in an adjacent bed to a man who did nothing but stare at the ceiling and mutter repeatedly, "I know you're coming, little men."

On the morning of his third day in the hospital, he had been interviewed by two Officer Jennys. At first, he'd been nervous, but then he had realized that there was one good thing about being in a psych ward— it gave him a credible defense.

"I don't remember anything about a resurrection experiment," he'd claimed earnestly, "I was working with some colleagues on a research project that the Cinnabar Laboratory staff had authorized us to carry out. We worked night and day— I didn't sleep a wink for two weeks, I was so involved. It was like I just _had_ to finish, you know?" he'd looked at the Officer Jennys wildly, making rapid hand gestures. The officers had appeared a little alarmed, and Giovanni had inwardly smirked that his plan was succeeding.

He'd finished by playing the crippled card, a surefire way to make the Officer Jennys feel sorry for him, and, ultimately, believe his story.

"I went into the lab to check on one of my pals, and the next thing I knew, something hit me. I don't remember what it was— I hit my head pretty hard, so that could be why. But anyway, when I woke up…" He'd swallowed and tried his best to appear brokenhearted, "I was… like this." He'd gestured to his limp, useless lower limbs, and the Officer Jennys had nodded sympathetically.

"We're sorry about your situation, sir," one of them had commented sincerely, "and while_ I_ believe your story, there still may be sufficient evidence for you to be summoned to court."

Giovanni had agreed politely, continuing to stare down at the floor forlornly.

Four days later, he'd been allowed to return home. Domino had picked him up and escorted him back to his estate.

She had been one of the only supporters he had left. The Rocket grunts who had been present on Cinnabar Island had abandoned him, most likely because of their fear of being arrested, as had the operator of the helicopter, who Giovanni had trusted greatly. _Spineless bastards,_ he'd thought bitterly, _after all the times I put my ass on the line for them, they desert me after one unsuccessful operation. Well, that's fine with me— I don't need those two-faced cowards working for me anyhow._

After the hospital had come the trial. So far, everyone Giovanni had spoken to had seemed to believe his story, but he'd still had one potential problem at that point— Misty Ketchum.

_Misty_, he thought spitefully, gritting his teeth, _always one to throw a monkey wrench in my plans._ She had ruined his plans for capturing Mewtwo on New Island seventeen years ago, and her daughter just had to have been there in the Cinnabar laboratory to thwart him once again.

But he had determined he would get back at her, even if he could only make her suffer psychologically. And, he would keep himself from being locked up— two birds with one stone.

The night before his trial, at which she had agreed to testify, he had called Misty's home phone. Obtaining the number had been simple— her name had still been on the list of phone numbers for the Kanto Gym Leaders Council.

"Hello?" she'd answered brightly, painfully naïve as to who was calling.

"Hello, Mrs. Ketchum," Giovanni had replied, his words dripping with sweet poison. Misty had been silent, but she didn't hang up the phone. He knew she had recognized his voice immediately.

"Now, I'm going make this quick, but I want you to listen very carefully. Tomorrow is my big day, and I will not allow you to ruin it by testifying against me. If you do, I will personally ensure that the entire police force— and every member of the Kanto Gym Leaders Council as well— knows all about your… _activities_ on New Island. I have composed an email with the video files attached. One click, and that email will be in the inbox of every one of the Kanto gym leaders, as well as the head of the police department. If you say one word against me in that courthouse tomorrow, you can also say goodbye to your job, and to all your Officer Jenny friends."

He had stopped there, but Misty had still remained silent. _Good,_ Giovanni had thought, smiling to himself, _I've got her attention. _

"However, if you remain silent, which I personally recommend, your secret will remain with me. I will not tell a soul, nor will I ever contact you again. You can forget I even exist, if you so choose."

Silence.

"So, Mrs. Ketchum, do we have a deal?"

There had been a pregnant pause, and then, almost so softly that Giovanni couldn't hear, Misty had replied, "Yes."

As she had promised, Misty did not testify, and, although it had taken a couple of months for the court to make a decision, Giovanni had ultimately been declared innocent. However, his victory had been short-lived.

After the trial had come the bills.

Thirty-thousand for the hospital stay. One hundred thousand for the lawyer. Another hundred thousand to keep the Cinnabar Laboratory head scientist quiet.

Not to mention the immense cost of performing the resurrection experiment in the first place, which Giovanni was still paying off.

Before Cinnabar Island, Giovanni had been a rich man. After the trial, he'd barely had enough money to get by. And things had only deteriorated further from there.

Even though he had been found innocent, some of the members of the Kanto Gym Leaders Council hadn't agreed with the judge's decision. They had voted to have Giovanni's gym leader license revoked. He had been fired from leading the Viridian Gym, which had been his only source of income.

At that point, Giovanni's few remaining allies had left him. Since he had no longer been able to afford to pay them, the skeleton crew that had then made up Team Rocket had disbanded, with the exception of Domino. Which meant that Giovanni had been left with no money, no supporters, and no job.

He was crippled, and he had nothing.

Then, with less than half of his hospital and court expenses paid off, Giovanni had used his remaining finances to do something rash and unexpected— buy out Silph Co.

The company had not been doing well for the last few years. Their competitors had bypassed them both in technology and in product quality, so it had not taken much for the owner to relinquish the company.

Domino had been furious.

"Why?" she had demanded incredulously, "why give up your only means of avoiding bankruptcy for _this_? Is this another "plan"? Another Team Rocket plot that's going to cost you millions? I hate to break it to you, but your plans don't _work_! They haven't for years! Besides, I'm the only one you have left, and I'm not going to help you. So there."

A week later, she had agreed to become his secretary.

For the next few years, Giovanni had worked with Domino by his side. Their only source of income had been Silph Co.'s lousy proceeds, which had been barely enough to break even. Giovanni had sold his estate in order to pay his bills, but even that had been just a drop in the bucket. He had been able to pay enough each month to keep the lenders at bay for a while, but in the last year he'd reached the bottom of the barrel. They were out of money.

Giovanni's thoughts abruptly returned to the present as his office phone rang.

_Not another creditor,_ he hoped, and he picked it up unenthusiastically.

"Hello?"

"Hiya. Is this Giovanni?"

It was the voice of Bill, the inventor and pokemon fanatic. Giovanni had asked Bill a favor several weeks ago, so he forced himself to be conversational and pleasant, though he certainly didn't feel that way.

"Yes. What can I do for you?"

"Well, I've been working hard on that project you asked about the other day, and it's just about finished."

_Damn,_ thought Giovanni, _that was quick. _He wasn't sure he was entirely happy about Bill's efficiency; at the moment, the ex-Team Rocket leader had no spare money with which to pay him.

"Excellent," Giovanni replied anyway, "when can you have it delivered?"

Giovanni looked up as Domino quietly entered the room with a sour expression on her face.

"It's looking like next Tuesday is the earliest," Bill said.

"Perfect. I just have one inquiry…" Giovanni eyed Domino, who crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at him, "…what will be the estimated cost for your services?"

"Hmmm…" Bill sounded indecisive, and it was clear to Giovanni that he hadn't even considered it yet. _He's a rich man_, Giovanni thought enviously, remembering when he had been in the same position. _Money is never a concern for him._ "Well, the machine itself is kind of a hunk of junk, honestly. That technology was outdated ten years ago. So the piece cost isn't gonna be that much; let's say… a couple thousand?"

Giovanni was stunned. _That is ridiculously inexpensive for that caliber of equipment, _he thought, _he's practically giving it to me!_ That said, Giovanni didn't even have a couple thousand to spare.

"And… as for the labor costs, well… That'll add on an extra five hundred or so. Sound good?"

"Twenty-five hundred," Giovanni stated, still dumbfounded by the absurdly low price. Domino shot him a murderous look.

"More or less, yeah."

"That sounds… perfect," Giovanni said. Domino's jaw dropped, and she shook her head, turning away from him.

"Alright, great. I'll have my guy bring it out Tuesday morning then. Nice doing business with you."

"Yes… you as well."

"Talk to you later."

"Goodbye."

Giovanni hung up the phone.

Domino was irate. "What did you just do?" she questioned heatedly, "Did I seriously just hear you agree to twenty-five hundred dollars? Where in the hell are you going to get _that_?"

"I will find the means," Giovanni answered, glaring at her darkly, "what I choose to do with my finances is none of your concern."

"But it _is_ my concern," she insisted, "this is my source of income, too, and if this business goes bankrupt, _I _go bankrupt! I'm already wearing last year's knock offs and eating grocery store sushi for lunch. I can't afford to sink any lower!"

Giovanni wheeled himself over to her. It seemed that ever since the rest of the Rockets quit, she had come to feel less and less intimidated by him, and now she was perfectly comfortable with challenging every decision he made. _I will not have this,_ he thought angrily.

Reaching up, Giovanni grabbed one of Domino's blond pigtails and roughly pulled her toward him. She yelped in pain and surprise.

Placing his lips right next to her ear, he said coolly, "Understand this. _I_ call the shots around her. _I _make the decisions. You are here to keep your mouth shut and do your job. I will _not_ tolerate defiance. Am I clear?"

He released her. She just looked at him for a moment, and then, to Giovanni's despair, she giggled. Her laugh had a strident, harsh quality to it that made him cringe.

"Sorry, boss," she said, suddenly serious, "but that just isn't going to work on me anymore. I'm the only one you have. If I leave, this business goes down the drain, and you go down with it. So I'd watch how I talked to me, if I were you."

Giovanni was disgusted. And, surprisingly, it wasn't directed at Domino— he was disgusted with himself. _I am pathetic,_ he realized, _my life has no meaning anymore. I should have died inside that blasted laboratory nine years ago._

"Anyway," Domino said, brightening, "I have some news for you."

"Yes," Giovanni said impassively, now with his back to her, staring out the window.

"Seriously, boss, this is important!"

He didn't respond.

"Today I was passing by the karate dojo, and I couldn't believe my eyes. You'll never guess who's in town."

….


	4. Energy Search

Author's Note:

Alright, here's installment number four! I'm posting it a little early because I have to be somewhere at 5 today. From here, the chapters seem to get progressively longer and longer; I just finished Chapter 6 last night, and it is MASSIVE. Not sure what to do about that at the moment… Also, "Hybrid" and "Human" covers are up, as I hope you can see! The "Human" cover is my personal favorite. I had a lot of fun working on it!

**PikaMewGirl: **Sorry, I am an "old skool" pokemon fan (as in, I don't know anything about post-Generation 2 pokemon), so I didn't get the reference. I had to look up who Arceus was, but I still don't get the "you have a gift" portion. I hope it was a compliment! Thanks for reviewing.

**StarWriterWG:** Your series sounds great! Wow, so you've been a Mewtwo fan since you were three? That's some devotion (it also makes me feel really old… I don't think Mewtwo existed until I was 8 or 9, lol!). If you're looking for a beta reader I might be interested in the job…

And I want to thank reader **Elvis-Stitch **for posting some awesome "Human" fan art on Deviant Art. If you're a fan of this series, you should go check it out (PM me or look on my user profile for the link... FFN is being lame and not letting me post it here).

Enjoy the chapter, and let me know what you thought of it! Review!

~TheFrogFromHell

**Chapter 4**

As Cameron approached the nightclub, she felt a little nervous, and that made her hesitate for a second.

But only for a second.

Cameron had heard the rhythm of the bass emanating from the club from half a block away, and now that she was standing in front of the door, she felt the sidewalk tremble underneath her feet, and it was as if her whole body was involuntarily quivering to the pulsing beat.

_Awesome,_ she thought, closing her eyes and enjoying the sensation, _now I just have to get inside…_

_Stop it, Cameron,_ Mew objected, _you're not old enough to go in, and even if you were, you're supposed to battle tomorrow morning!_

_But it's my birthday, _Cameron argued playfully, _or, it will be in a couple of hours, anyway, and I just wanna have some fun!_

_You _were_ going to have some fun,_ Mew scolded, _but then you had to break the rules and get in trouble._

_Mew, you sound like my mother, _Cameron responded, frowning. _Loosen up a little. It's not going to kill you._

The pokemon didn't respond.

Cameron approached the bouncer standing at the door of the club. He was a large, muscular man dressed in all black, and Cameron figured he probably intimidated most people.

But not Cameron.

"How much to get in?" she inquired casually.

"Shades off, Miss."

Cameron glowered at the reflective sunglasses the bouncer was wearing himself. _That's a nice way to greet your customers,_ she thought, and reluctantly removed her dark glasses.

The man studied her face.

"The cover's fifteen dollars," he stated practically, "but that's for twenty-one and up, and I can see you're nowhere near that. What are you, fourteen? Don't even bother showing me a fake I.D. Go home; it's past your bedtime."

Cameron seethed. _Fourteen? Who does he think he is?_

_Don't even think about it,_ Mew interrupted. The pokemon had heard in her thoughts what she was planning to do.

_Oh, I'm thinking about it._ She grinned and focused her gaze intensely on the bouncer's eyes. He looked alarmed at first when he saw the blue glow radiate from Cameron's eyes, but she quickly tapped into his mind to calm him.

"Take off your shades," Cameron barked. The bouncer quickly complied.

"Hey, you," someone behind Cameron in line yelled, "what's the hold up? I want to get in at some point tonight!"

Without turning around, Cameron located the speaker and projected in his mind, _shut up if you know what's good for you._ The man didn't say another word.

Focusing again on the bouncer, Cameron said aloud, "I am Cameron Ketchum. Today is my twenty-first birthday. I'm here to celebrate. This is _my_ party. Got it?"

She allowed the blue glow to fade away slowly. The bouncer blinked, disoriented, and then looked at her.

"Right," he said, "Happy birthday, Miss Ketchum! Go on in."

If the bass had been loud outside the place, inside it was deafening.

The inside of the club was painted all black, and bright strobe lights contrasted with the darkness of the floor and walls. The dance floor was a mass of people, all gyrating to the beat, so close together that they appeared to move as a single entity.

To the left, there was a sleek-looking bar, and next to it was a huge platform where the DJ was mixing the music and casting multicolored, moving images on a projector screen in sync with the rhythm.

Cameron first approached the bar. _I've never had a drink before,_ she thought,_ now's my chance!_

Cameron approached the counter, and the bartender noticed her and smiled.

"What do you want to drink?" the woman said. She had fire-engine red hair, black lipstick, and her arms were covered in tattoos. _Cool_, Cameron thought.

"Umm… I'll have a…" she heard someone close by order a Red Moon, and Cameron didn't know what that was, but she didn't want to sound like she didn't know what she was doing. "… a Red Moon," she finished.

"Okay. Can I see some ID, please?"

Cameron rolled her eyes. _Do I really look that young?_

Cameron focused on the woman's mind. _Today is my twenty-first birthday, _she imprinted in the woman's mind. _I just showed you my driver's license._

"Wow, happy birthday!" The woman said, oblivious, and handed her an ice cold bottle of beer, "this one's on the house!"

_So this is what a Red Moon is,_ Cameron thought. She wondered what beer tasted like.

"Thanks," Cameron said, taking a sip. She wrinkled her nose. _Yuck… bitter!_

She felt a chill run down her spine. _Someone is staring at me,_ she determined, and turned her head to her left.

Sitting next to her at the bar was a young man.

He was tall and lanky, with sharp, angular green eyes and wavy hair so blond it was almost white. He had a delicate jaw and a small, straight nose, and his cheekbones looked like they could cut glass.

_Wow… he's gorgeous,_ Cameron couldn't help thinking, although she was more than a little creeped out. The man (or boy, rather; actually, Cameron realized, he didn't look like he could be much older than her) was studying her with a critical expression on his face, as if he was trying to figure her out.

"What are you staring at?" Cameron shouted rudely.

The boy looked away for a moment, as if deep in thought, and then replied, "Nothing."

He had a soft voice, and the corners of his mouth turned up into a ghost of a smile as he spoke.

Cameron narrowed her eyes. _Weirdo, _she thought, shaking her head.

She began walking over towards the DJ's booth, but the strange thing was, she could have sworn she heard the boy mutter, "I heard that." But she knew she hadn't said anything aloud, so she figured she was just imagining things.

Cameron arrived at the booth, and she stood on her tip toes and leaned forward to get closer to the DJ. She yelled, "Hey! I have a request!"

The man removed his enormous pair of headphones from his ears and left them hanging around his neck.

"Yeah?" He said, holding his hand up to his ear in order to hear her better.

_Not necessary,_ Cameron thought, and projected directly into his mind, _I need you to make an announcement._

"What announcement?" the DJ inquired, unaware that his thoughts and memories were being altered as they spoke.

_It's my twenty-first birthday,_ Cameron imprinted in his consciousness, _and this is my party. The guests need to know I've arrived._

The DJ nodded. "Okay," he said, and reduced the volume of the music.

"Y'all listen up!" he said into his mic, "we got a very special lady in the house tonight—everybody say "happy birthday" to… to…"

Hoisting herself up to stand on top of the booth, Cameron snatched the microphone out of the man's hand.

"Cameron Ketchum," she announced, and her eyes glowed blue. Everyone on the dance floor gazed up at her in awe, captivated. "I'm the most famous, and the most powerful pokemon trainer in the world, and it's my twenty-first birthday, so I'm gonna celebrate in style!" She smirked. "DJ, turn it up! Let's get this party started! Everyone, drinks are my treat for the rest of the night."

The crowd cheered, and the music began playing again at full volume.

Cameron descended from the DJ booth to the dance floor, and a swarm of people instantaneously surrounded her, all asking for her autograph and complimenting her.

"Great party, Cameron!"

"Wow, your outfit's so cute!"

"You're so pretty… what do you do to get your hair to look like that?"

Cameron laughed. _This is amazing, _she thought, _with my power, I can be anyone I want to be._

But a part of her felt unsatisfied and empty. It didn't make any sense; this was the best birthday party anyone could ask for— she had everything she wanted! _Then why do I feel like something's missing? _she wondered, frowning.

Again, she got the unsettling feeling that someone was watching her, and, out of the corner of her eye, she saw the blond boy, still sitting at the bar, looking over at her.

…..

_Bingo, _Fin thought with pride, _I _knew_ there was a psychic somewhere in this town._

He'd sensed an unfamiliar psychic signature at around four o'clock that afternoon, but he'd been working at the Saffron Gym battling trainers and hadn't been able to get away.

At five o'clock, when the gym had closed, Fin had left immediately to follow the signature, hoping he would catch up to whoever was emitting it.

When he had first felt the signature, he had instantly known that whoever it belonged to was an extremely powerful psychic. The sensation of the psychic waves had been like nothing Fin had ever experienced before; it had been completely overwhelming. However, the strangest thing about the signature was that it had been ambiguous— difficult to tell whether it came from a psychic human, or a psychic pokemon. He'd expected to find something unusual; something he'd never encountered before.

But he hadn't expected this.

The girl certainly _looked _human. Fin watched her as she danced, and if he hadn't just seen her manipulate the bartender, or her extravagant, almost inconceivable display of psychic control over the partygoers, he would have thought she was a completely normal girl. But never in Fin's life had he sensed a psychic signature so unique and powerful; there was no way this girl could be fully human.

The girl— Cameron Ketchum, as she had announced— glanced over her shoulder at Fin, and he quickly averted his gaze. _She knows I'm watching her,_ he realized. Sighing, he thought to himself, _I might as well go over and introduce myself._

Fin stood up and began to walk slowly toward her. Although he hoped he appeared calm and confident, he inwardly acknowledged that he was apprehensive. Whatever this girl was, she was immensely strong, and she was out of control.

_If I used my power to do the things this girl does, Sabrina would kill me,_ Fin thought. Not that he was powerful enough to infiltrate the minds of hundreds of people at once anyway; that would take serious telepathic muscles.

The girl sensed his presence before he reached her. She whirled around and stomped toward him boldly.

"Okay," she demanded, "who are you, and why the heck do you keep staring at me? It's giving me the creeps."

"Sorry," Fin said lamely. He had not expected Cameron to be quite so confrontational, and it had caught him off guard. "My name is Fin. I work over at the Saffron City Pokemon Gym."

The girl held her beer up to her lips, and, grimacing, she tipped the bottle upside down and finished off the last few swallows.

Shuddering and wiping her mouth, she turned back to him. "Fin? What kind of a name is that?"

Fin frowned. This girl's attitude was irritating him. "It's short for Finneus. And while we're on the subject of names, you said your last name was Ketchum up there— are you related to Ash Ketchum, who used to be one of the Elite Four?"

Cameron scoffed and rolled her eyes. She started making her way back to the bar, and Fin followed her.

"All I ever hear is "Ash, Ash, Ash"," she complained, "well, you know what? I'm better than Ash. People just can't handle that there's a new trainer in town— a _better_ trainer— with the last name Ketchum. I'm supposed to battle the Karate King tomorrow, and he's not going to know what hit him."

_Is that true? Could she really be strong enough to defeat the Karate King? _Fin wondered. _Well, whether she is or not, this girl is really starting to piss me off._ He leaned in close to her, quieting his voice so that only she could hear what he said.

"You can drop the act," he said coolly, "I know you think you're pretty clever with your little "announcement", but I can see right through you. Your psychic powers have no effect on me."

Cameron spun around and widened her eyes. Fin noticed their color for the first time. _Purple,_ he noted, _very interesting…_ He felt her attempt to push her way into his mind to read his thoughts, and he quickly formed a mental barrier to stop her.

She gasped. "You're…"

"Psychic," Fin confirmed.

"But…" Cameron appeared astounded. "I didn't think that… humans could…" she trailed off.

_She speaks of humans as if they are a different race,_ he noticed.

"Never mind," Cameron said, appearing to muster up some confidence once again. The bartender set an open beer on the counter for her, and she picked it up and took a swig.

"I get it. You don't want to party. You're just going to be another person that wants to tell me everything I'm doing wrong. And that's fine. But just leave me alone tonight. I just want to have fun."

She took another gulp of beer, squinting and wrinkling her nose at the taste.

"Is that what you call this?" Fin questioned, "having fun? As I said, I am a psychic too, so I can sense all of your emotions— you're uncomfortable, anxious, and guilty— and none of them feel very fun to me."

Cameron scowled at him. "Well, you better check again," she retaliated coldly, "or maybe, you're just not powerful enough to read emotions accurately."

Fin was getting angry. "You know what? Fine. I thought it was cool that there was another psychic in town. I thought maybe we could, y'know, talk a little and get to know each other. But I've decided I don't want to get to know you. You're manipulative, spoiled, and childish, and I don't want anything to do with you."

"Fine."

"Fine."

Fin glared at her once more before turning on his heels and heading for the door.

_I thought I'd be telling Sabrina tomorrow that I found a new recruit for the gym, _Fin thought heatedly, _but instead I found a little monster._


	5. Secret Mission

Author's Note:

Chapter 5 is here! This is a massively long chapter (3,700 words) and chapter 6 is as well. I have determined that this fic will be much longer and more in depth than its predecessors. I am working on chapter 9 now, and "Hybrid" has already surpassed "Human" in length. Oh, and to clarify—I live in California, so updates will be posted on **Fridays at 5 pm US Pacific Time.**

**StarWriterWG: **Don't give away the ending for everyone else! ;-) Well, hopefully some unexpected twists and turns coming up will make things a bit less predictable. Glad you agreed with me about "Human". And yes—let me know if/when you finish your story!

**TheElderTroll: **Thanks for reviewing! Glad you like the story! I agree; Cameron should listen to Mew. Unfortunately she hasn't quite reached that level of maturity yet. Maybe she needs a few profound, exciting plot events to convince her…

**Elvis-Stitch: **Myrah sounds very interesting! Great minds think alike I suppose. :-) And creating a human version of Mewtwo has been one of the best parts of writing this series. I'd love to see both your own version of the human Mewtwo, and your interpretation of my version!

**booklover41: **Well, you're in luck! More is here! Glad you like it.

**Brisenberg: **Thanks for all your reviews! About human psychics… Well, it is an accepted part of the game canon that the gym leader Sabrina has psychic powers. Although I'm unsure if it states this in the game, I have assumed, and included in this fic, that the trainers working with her at her gym are also psychic. Perhaps I will include somewhat of a "scientific" explanation for their powers, as that sounds like fun. But if I do, it will be brief.

Anyway, now for the feature presentation! Enjoy, and please let me know how you liked it.

~TheFrogFromHell

**Chapter 5**

Mewtwo awoke before dawn with Misty curled up next to him. She looked so beautiful and contented, and it was so warm and comfortable under the covers that, momentarily, Mewtwo reconsidered his departure. _No_, he thought reluctantly, _this is something that must be done. Something that should have been done a long time ago._

It was four o'clock in the morning, and Mewtwo doubted there would be any humans to see him on the route he planned on taking, so he decided to shift back to his original appearance. As much as he enjoyed being physically human when he was with Misty, his pokemon form felt, and, probably, would always feel, more natural to him.

From Cerulean City, he planned to travel eastward toward Rock Tunnel, but, rather than taking the dark pass through to Lavender, he would fly above the river past the abandoned power plant.

Mewtwo walked over to their large bedroom window, and he studied his reflection in the dark glass before opening it.

There had been a time when Mewtwo had been disgusted with his real appearance. When Misty had first invited him to live with her, even though she had reassured him time and time again that she was comfortable with his pokemon form, Mewtwo had felt uneasy. He had remained in human form nearly all of the time for the first few months of their residing together. He'd been especially sure to hide his true self from Cameron, as he had not wanted to frighten her.

But there was something about remaining in human form for too long that troubled Mewtwo. After several days without changing back, he had discovered he would begin to feel trapped within his own skin, as if he was wearing a tight-fitting mask; a costume. His skin would cease to feel like his own, and, sometimes when he looked down at his form, particularly his hands or feet, he would get the strange sensation that he was inside someone else's body. Technically, he _was_ in someone else's body— an artificial human's, that he had created for him to control.

The more Mewtwo had been afflicted with this unsettling feeling, the more agitated he had grown, and he had begun to struggle to keep his emotions under control. He had become irritable around Misty, sometimes snapping at her, and, when he did so, the hurt he saw in her eyes made his heart ache. He had wanted to spend his life with her, but, simultaneously, he had known that neither of them would be happy living in the way that they were.

Although Mewtwo loved Misty, and he felt more strongly for her than he had about anything else in his life, he had known that he could not be completely satisfied in a domestic, human life. That was the sort of being he was, he supposed; he had been created to be something between human and pokemon; something that would never truly fit in either category.

So, each night, after Misty fell to sleep by his side, he had changed back to pokemon form, leaving her temporarily to fly off into the darkness outside.

It was at night that he felt the most alive.

He had flown high above civilization; so high that the thoughts of the people below were barely audible in his mind. At first, he had been content to simply explore the city (and, sometimes, if he was feeling adventurous, other cities in the region) but he had quickly grown bored with that. Also, Mewtwo had originally ascended to the sky to find stillness and silence, but he had found that such a state was impossible; even the quietest thoughts of humans clouded his consciousness and distracted him from achieving inner peace.

The noise from the minds had continued to plague Mewtwo, undermining his attempts to shut them out. Now that he had lived in a human body and felt human emotion himself, all the feelings that he sensed had especially gripped him. When he had sensed anger, lust, and fear in the humans below, it was almost as if he had been overcome by the emotions himself. He had grown more and more frustrated with this, until, one day, it had occurred to him that it was futile to fight the sensations.

Instead, he could use them.

With practice, Mewtwo had learned to pinpoint the exact locations of these emotional signals. The stronger the emotion, the easier it had been to find the person experiencing it.

One day, Mewtwo had felt a sensation so strong it had chilled him.

There had been a flash of fear— terror, truly— that had made Mewtwo shudder in revulsion. Then, immediately following, there had been a horrid, sickening combination of emotions— an aggressive, malicious anger coupled with a gleeful, excited giddiness.

Unsure of his objective at the time, Mewtwo had rushed toward the source of the turmoil.

The closer he had grown to the epicenter of the conflict, the stronger he had felt the emotions, and they had become almost unbearable.

Mewtwo had found himself in a dark alley on the outskirts of town. Careful to stay hidden, he had perched atop a building and surveyed the scene below.

There had been a man, dark and cloaked, looming over a young, whimpering woman.

The woman's terrified pleas had been audibly indecipherable, but Mewtwo had heard in her mind that she was begging for her life.

Mewtwo had inhaled sharply when he had noticed the man was brandishing a knife. With Mewtwo's superior vision, he had been able to make out, even in the dark, the cruel grin on the man's face as he had held the knife up to her slender neck.

"No," Mewtwo had heard the woman whisper. The individual thoughts in the man's head had been incomprehensible; Mewtwo had only seen images— images far too violent and revolting to describe in words.

Automatically, with no consideration of the possible consequences, Mewtwo had telekinetically levitated the attacker, and he had cried out as Mewtwo hurled him forcefully against the wall of the building. "What the—" the man had exclaimed as he had caught a brief glimpse of Mewtwo atop the building.

The woman had screamed, and Mewtwo had sensed her fear, shock, and confusion. The man had collided with the hard surface with a thud and slid to the ground, where he had lain motionless.

Mewtwo had frozen.

He had known he had to stop the man from assaulting the woman in any way that he could, but it was very possible he had reacted too vehemently— the man could be dead.

As much as Mewtwo had wished the man deceased after seeing his thoughts, he had not wanted a stranger's blood on his hands, and he had _not_ needed to give the police a reason to search for him.

_This is bad,_ Mewtwo had realized gravely. Unmindful that he was still in original form, Mewtwo had levitated to the ground and rushed to the man.

Behind Mewtwo, the woman had screamed again, covering her face as she sobbed.

_Quiet,_ Mewtwo had projected to her as he held his paw up to the man's neck, searching for a heartbeat. Unsurprisingly, this had only distressed the woman more.

Mewtwo had sighed in relief when he had detected a moderately strong pulse. _Alive,_ he had thought. _Undoubtedly, some of his bones are broken, but he is alive._

"Wh… who are you?" had come a voice from behind Mewtwo, "_what _are you?"

Mewtwo had turned around. He had been unused to revealing his true form to humans, and he had been caught off guard.

_I… I am Mewtwo,_ he had answered in her mind, knowing that telling her his name would not fully answer her questions, but unsure of a better response.

"Mewtwo," she had repeated, appearing dazed. Mewtwo had seen the same expression on Misty's face before, when the two of them had been on New Island together. _This woman does not know whether she is dreaming or awake, _he had identified. "Well… whatever you are… you saved my life. Thank you… I don't know how I can repay you."

Mewtwo had taken a step towards her, and she had instinctively backed away. Mewtwo had felt a twinge of irritation— and hurt— at this.

_Even though I rescued her, _he had thought dejectedly, _she still fears me._

_There is no need for repayment, _Mewtwo had projected in the woman's mind, attempting to set his emotions aside, _but you should contact the authorities and report this man— he is very dangerous and requires punishment for his actions._

"But what do I tell them?" she had questioned frantically, "there is no way they are going to believe I knocked him out myself!"

Mewtwo had sighed. _She is correct,_ he had admitted to himself, _they will conclude that a third party was present whether the man is dead or not._

_Look away,_ Mewtwo had instructed the woman, and she had complied. Then, as quickly as possible, he had psychically separated, manipulated, and reassembled each one of his DNA strands, changing his physical appearance to that of a human's. He fashioned "clothing" out of pure psychic energy, a skill that he had not yet perfected (occasionally, the articles of clothing would randomly change color and shape, mystifying those who noticed) but would have to suffice for the moment.

"Alright," Mewtwo had said, and the woman had turned back to him and gaped.

"You're…"

"Human? Only visually. This is a form I assume only when necessary. Now, call the police."

The woman had reached into her purse with trembling hands and retrieved her cell phone.

After she had made the call, Mewtwo and the woman (who, Mewtwo found out, was named Kay) had made their way to the street to wait for the police.

A few minutes later, an Officer Jenny had pulled up in her blue and white law enforcement vehicle.

Stepping out of the car, she had studied the two figures standing in front of her— the tall, sharply handsome man that was Mewtwo, and the small, unkempt woman— before asking, "What seems to be the problem, folks?"

Mewtwo had explained that he had been out for an evening walk when he had come across Kay, who had been about to be assaulted by a man. He had claimed that, upon seeing the assailant, he had charged him as forcefully as he could, taking the man completely by surprise and knocking him back against the wall, where he now lay unconscious. Kay had given Mewtwo a wary look, knowing that he was slanting the truth, but she had confirmed his story.

Officer Jenny had appeared puzzled when she had examined the unconscious man.

"I find it hard to believe that you were able to shove him this hard," she had stated suspiciously, "I'm no doctor, but he looks pretty bad."

Silently cursing to himself, Mewtwo had determined that he would need to influence her mind, at least a little, to convince her of their story.

_I am very strong, _he had psychically suggested to her, his eyes glowing a light shade of blue, _I train with weights. Pushing him into the wall was undemanding for me._

"Oh. I understand," Officer Jenny had said aloud, marking something down in a little notebook she was holding. Kay had glanced at Mewtwo inquisitively— she had not been able to hear their private exchange.

Suddenly, Mewtwo had jumped as he had felt a sharp pain in his heel. He had whipped his head around and seen that the attacker, still lying on the ground, had awakened, and had swiped at Mewtwo with his knife. The blow had not injured him badly, and but it had taken him by surprise.

In under a second, Officer Jenny had drawn her gun.

"Don't move," she had instructed. "You are under arrest!"

The man had groaned. "What?" He had questioned groggily, "I didn't do nothin'… that was self defense!" He glared at Mewtwo. "You!" he had exclaimed furiously, attempting to point a finger at Mewtwo but wincing in pain. "You may look different, but I know it was you who attacked me! It's the eyes."

Mewtwo had looked at Officer Jenny, who had released the safety on her gun with a "click". "He is obviously delusional," Mewtwo had remarked innocently, "perhaps it is because of head trauma." Officer Jenny had nodded in understanding.

"Drop the weapon. Don't move or I'll fire!" Officer Jenny had barked. The man had let the knife clatter to the ground. "Turn around and put your hands up on the wall."

The officer had proceeded to handcuff the man and escort him to her vehicle. "You have the right to remain silent," she had told him, "anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law."

"Fuck that," the man had spat, "it's not me you want; it's _him!_" He'd nodded in Mewtwo's direction. "That guy… he's some kind of freak! Not human!"

Officer Jenny had ignored him, locking him in the car and bagging up the knife on the ground for evidence.

"I'm glad you got away from this man safely," she had said to Kay. "I just have one more question for you two— what are your names?"

"Kay Whitman," the woman had said automatically. Officer Jenny had jotted the name down and proceeded to turn to Mewtwo.

"Erm…" Mewtwo had experienced a fleeting moment of panic, realizing he'd have to come up with something quickly to avoid arousing suspicion. "Michael," he'd responded, remembering his alias from years ago, "Michael…" he had noticed the color of the hubcap on Officer Jenny's cop car gleaming under the streetlamp, "…Silver. Michael Silver."

Officer Jenny had written down the name, appearing satisfied.

"Thank you, Mr. Silver," she had said, getting into her car, "I'm going to take this man to the station right now."

After she had driven away, Mewtwo had turned to Kay, who had appeared dumbfounded.

They had remained silent for a few moments, until she had said to him quietly, "What that man said was true. You aren't human. I haven't ever seen anything like you before, and that scares me."

She had gazed into his eyes seriously. "But I am thankful that you saved me. Will I ever see you again?"

For an unknown reason, the woman's question had saddened Mewtwo.

"No," he had replied, "you will not. And what you saw this evening must be erased from your mind. I shall make you forget that you ever encountered me tonight." He lifted his hand reluctantly, preparing to suppress the unwanted memories.

"Wait," Kay had objected anxiously, "please don't. I won't tell anyone about you, I swear. If I am asked, I'll just say exactly what you said to Officer Jenny— that you shoved that man against the wall. But I want to remember you— I want to remember you saved my life. Please?"

Mewtwo had hesitated, and then he'd slowly lowered his hand.

He had chosen to respect her wishes, as unwise as that decision might have been, for a mixture of reasons. The first was that he had decided over the years that he disliked unnecessarily toying with people's minds; it made him feel deceitful, and brought his residual feelings of guilt about the events that occurred on New Island to the surface. However, the larger reason was that he had honestly _wanted_ this woman to remember him— he had wanted it to be so that if they did encounter each other again, she would not experience him as a creature to be feared, but as her savior.

After that night, Mewtwo had begun to react differently when he heard the thoughts of the people in Cerulean City. Strange as it was, he had enjoyed his encounter with the woman. He had speculated that this was because he felt positively about helping others, but he knew internally that this had not been the whole reason. _I no longer want to be treated as a monster, _Mewtwo had known. _I want them to depend on me— to value me— and see as I do that I am not less than human, but greater. _

After having this revelation, Mewtwo had nightly scanned the sea of thoughts he heard for the tell tale signs of distress— intense, all consuming fear, and the twisted, violent thoughts of wicked humans— and used them to track down the people involved. _Using my power_, _I can eliminate the acts of evil human nature I have come to despise,_ he had realized. _It is so clear to me now… why have I never thought of it before?_

He had also formulated a more effective plan for dealing with the aggressors— rather than involving the police, he would tamper with the criminals' minds, rendering them so that whenever malevolent thoughts entered their heads, they would be accompanied by a sense of impending doom and mental agony. As for the victims, Mewtwo had decided that it would be a case-by-case basis whether he would erase memories or not. Occasionally, he would gather from a human's thoughts that he or she struggled with keeping secrets, or was dying to tell his or her friends and acquaintances about him, and in these cases he would choose to obliterate himself from their minds. More of the time, however, he left their recollections fully intact.

A week after the incident with Kay in the alley, Mewtwo had sat smugly at the breakfast table as Misty had read an article in the paper aloud about Carl Santiago, a serial murderer who had been arrested several days before.

"'We never would have caught him if it hadn't been for a brave civilian, Michael Silver,'" Misty had read, quoting Officer Jenny, "'Mr. Silver, if you are out there, the Cerulean City police force— and Cerulean citizens as well, I'm sure— thanks you!'"

It hadn't taken long for Misty to find out about Mewtwo's nightly activities. Naturally, she had been extremely supportive.

"I'm so proud of you," she had gushed, hugging her lover tightly. "You've finally found a way to use your abilities to help the world!"

Mewtwo had known his motives were not quite as noble as she had made them sound, but he had accepted her praise nonetheless. The two had decided to keep his endeavors secret from Cameron, for they had been afraid she might share the information with curious friends, classmates, and teachers.

Mewtwo's thoughts returned to the present. It was nearly dawn; he had to begin his journey.

He opened the bedroom window as silently as he could so as to not wake Misty. Then, activating his psychic powers, he levitated himself out of the large window, closing it gently behind him.

He headed east toward Rock Tunnel, flying higher and higher until the world below was reduced to a mosaic of color. The cool early morning wind whipped around Mewtwo's face, ruffling the short, white fur all over his body, and he felt exhilarated. As he flew further, he marveled at the beauty of the pastel sunrise creeping up from behind Rock Tunnel.

_The world is breathtaking, _Mewtwo thought to himself, _how could I possibly have threatened this beauty with a global storm?_

Mewtwo was so fascinated by the scenery that he failed to notice the huge pokemon approaching him.

SLAM!

Mewtwo was abruptly struck by an impressively powerful tackle. He tumbled backwards, flailing his limbs to regain control. When he could hold himself upright, he turned back to his attacker.

"Pidge-_ooooh_!" the flying pokemon cried triumphantly.

It was a pidgeot, and a rather large one. Something about its appearance was familiar to Mewtwo.

The realization hit him suddenly. _It is a clone,_ he recognized, _one of the clones I made on New Island. _He had lived with this pokemon for several years after New Island as well in their new dwelling place; it was surprising he hadn't recognized the pokemon more quickly.

"Geot, pidgey," The pokemon stated. Mewtwo understood it to have said, "hello, my father".

Mewtwo was wary. Although a pokemon's thoughts differed from a human's, he sensed that this pokemon was not entirely overjoyed to see his "father" again.

_Hello,_ Mewtwo replied, _what brings you here?_

"Pidgeot! Pidge, Pidge-oooh!"

Mewtwo raised his mental armor in response to that statement. _Why have you been looking for me?_

Mewtwo was out of practice at translating pokemon speech, but he believed he heard the creature correctly as it explained to him,

"We— your true family, the ones you brought into existence— are very angry with you. You abandoned us years ago, favoring the company of humans over ours. At that time, we were willing to let you go, but now we have discovered something very disturbing— you have fathered a human's child."

This statement angered Mewtwo. _My daughter does not concern you_ he argued. _Let us settle any disputes between us ourselves, and leave her out of it!_

"We disagree," Pidgeot retaliated, "we believe she _is _our concern. You have broken one of the fundamental rules of life by creating this child, if it can be called that. It is a vile, hybrid creature that should never have been born. It is between human and pokemon; a deviant, dangerous being that must be destroyed!"

Mewtwo was enraged. _LEAVE HER OUT OF THIS! _he screamed at the pokemon mentally and unleashed his most powerful Psybeam, directing it towards his adversary.

The pokemon flew upward and managed to evade most of the attack, but Mewtwo could tell he still had significantly reduced its health points. Pidgeot responded with a Razor Wind attack, which was so forceful it blew Mewtwo backwards even through the Barrier he conjured.

"This is a warning," the Pidgeot communicated to Mewtwo as it flew away, "I may not be strong enough to fight you alone, but together, we clones are more than powerful enough to defeat you. We _will_ destroy the hybrid creature. Attempt to interfere, and you will be destroyed as well."

Mewtwo's heart pounded as the pokemon disappeared into the horizon. _Cameron_, he thought urgently, _I must get to Saffron City at once!_


	6. Chaos Gym

Author's Note:

Sorry this post is an hour late! I am participating in Tough Mudder (google it) tomorrow, and was out shopping for some last minute gear. Anyway, this is the longest single chapter I have ever written: 4,200 words. *grins proudly* Anyway, I hope it doesn't feel long… it's got a lot of action, so hopefully not.

**Brisenberg: **Hmm… originally, I had planned for Kay to be a nobody, but now I may have other plans. You'll just have to read and see! ;) And Pidgeot was just the messenger…

**StarWriterWG: **A story's book cover should show up right next to the story in the archive, and in the upper left corner once you open the story (I believe you can click on it here for a zoomed-in view). If you are using the mobile site, however, book covers will not appear (which is lame, if you ask me). If you still cannot see the covers on the regular site, go to my profile page—I have posted links to them on Deviant Art. Thanks for actually reading my rewrites! Also, you should consider making an account so I can respond to you a little more quickly.

Anyway, here is this week's installment. I welcome any feedback (REVIEWS), positive or otherwise (but please, no flames). Thanks for reading!

~TheFrogFromHell

**Chapter 6**

There was darkness everywhere, except for the random colorful lights that swirled around in Cameron's vision.

_Wake up,_ a voice said from somewhere.

Cameron saw a figure in the distance, slowly walking towards her. _It's that guy from the club,_ she remembered. _What was his name again? Flynn?_

_Wake up! _the voice spoke again, this time more insistently.

The blond boy stopped a few feet away from Cameron, smiled, and winked at her. His sparkling green eyes were just as luminous as the bright lights in the darkness.

_Why is he smiling at me? _Cameron wondered, _I thought he hated me._

_WAKE UP!_

Cameron gasped and opened her eyes. Sunlight streamed in through a large window to her left. At first she didn't recognize her surroundings, but then she recalled she was in her Saffron City hotel room.

A thought struck her. _Oh, no,_ she thought fretfully, and she craned her neck to look at the alarm clock on her bedside table.

**8:53 am. **

_Shit, _she thought, _I'm supposed to battle the Karate King at nine, and the gym is on the other side of town!_

_I tried to wake you up earlier, but you didn't listen!_ Mew scolded from its pokeball on the night stand.

Feeling sick to her stomach, Cameron leapt out of bed and was overcome by a throbbing headache. _Ugh…_ _I'm never drinking alcohol again!_

She rushed to the bathroom mirror and studied her reflection briefly. She had fallen asleep in her clothes the night before, and they were wrinkled and stale looking, but they'd have to do— she didn't have time to change. She smoothed her hair and rinsed her mouth with mouthwash, snatched her pokeballs up from the night stand, and ran out the door.

"TAXI!" She yelled as she ran at full speed toward the gym, "come on, I need a lift!" But she didn't see any taxis nearby, and the only responses she was getting were weird looks from passersby.

_Screw this, _she thought to herself, and, ducking behind a building, she telekinetically lifted herself off the ground, flying at full speed towards the karate dojo.

_What are you doing? _Mew communicated frantically. _Are you crazy? What if someone sees you? Your dad is going to kill you!_

_My dad was already going to kill me yesterday,_ Cameron replied. _Doing one more thing he doesn't like is just icing on the cake._

Mew paused. _Good point,_ it said, and Cameron smiled.

Cameron looked down as the tops of buildings flew by, and she had to ease herself up a little higher to clear the top of Silph Co., the tallest structure. She hadn't had much practice flying, and she felt a little out of control, but she had to make it to that gym! _I want one of those fighting pokemon, _Cameron thought determinedly. _I need a pokemon strong enough to win battles without me helping._

_So just train the ones you have! _argued Mew.

_Too much work,_ Cameron reasoned, _if I have to do that with every single pokemon I own, it'll take me over a year to reach the Elite Four!_

_You mean exactly how long it takes every other new trainer in Kanto?_

Cameron chose to ignore that comment.

Finally, she approached the dojo. Bracing herself, she attempted a graceful landing behind some bushes, but instead she crashed into them, landing on her hands and knees and obtaining a few scratches and bruises. Sighing in frustration, she stood up, brushed herself off, and began healing herself psychically as she stepped out of the brush.

Oddly, there was a woman standing there. She had her hair in blond pigtails, and wore all pink except for the pair of huge, black movie star sunglasses she had on. Cameron quickly stopped healing herself, making the blue glow fade from her eyes, and she hoped the woman hadn't noticed it. _She looks familiar,_ Cameron thought to herself, _I think I saw her yesterday outside the dojo, too._

The woman's sunglasses also reminded Cameron of something. _Damn it— I forgot my shades!_

The woman didn't say anything; she just stood there and stared at Cameron as if she was looking for something.

"_What?" _Cameron yelled at her. Cameron was _not _in the mood to deal with people staring at her. The woman squeaked and jumped.

"Umm… nothing. You're battling the Karate King today, right? I just, um, came to cheer you on. I'm your biggest fan!" The woman smiled, almost too widely, and her teeth were so white they almost looked artificial.

Cameron felt a little guilty. "Oh," she said lamely, "well… thanks. Sorry." She took off running towards the entrance of the dojo. _What a strange lady,_ she thought, shaking it off as she entered the building.

The wall clock inside the dojo told Cameron it was almost nine fifteen. The Karate King stood at the back of the dojo with his arms crossed and a displeased expression on his face.

_He's mad that I'm late,_ Cameron knew, _I hope he'll still battle me._

Cameron approached him with a sheepish expression on her face.

"I'm sorry I'm late," Cameron said apologetically. The King did not look amused. Cameron decided to play up the sympathy.

"It's just that…" she said tragically, looking away and hiding her eyes with her hand as if she was crying, "my sick grandfather called me this morning to wish me a happy birthday, and I just had to take the call. I know it was rude of me to make you wait."

The Karate King's expression softened a little, but he still looked wary.

"You look pretty rough, kid," he said, surveying her wrinkled clothes and the dark circles under her eyes.

"I was up all night worrying about him," Cameron said, sniffling.

The Karate King sighed. "Okay, kid," he caved, "normally I refuse to battle any trainer who shows up late, but since it's your birthday, I'll take you on. Okay?"

Cameron suddenly brightened, her "tears" magically disappearing from her face. "Okay! Great!"

Cameron and the Karate King stood on opposite sides of the arena at the back of the studio. Cameron looked over at the bleachers on the wall of the dojo, which were about half full of people there to watch the battle, and she noticed that the blond woman with the dark glasses was one of them.

Cameron gulped. She had to battle well enough to win without using her power; she didn't have her sunglasses to hide her glowing blue eyes, and she could be disqualified from the Pokemon League Challenge if she was caught cheating. _I can do this_, she thought, though she wasn't entirely sure of herself.

_Good luck, _she heard Mew say in her mind. _You're going to need it._

_Shut up! _Cameron responded, irritated, _I'm a great trainer, with or without my power._

"The battle between Cameron Ketchum and the Karate King will begin in thirty seconds," announced the referee. Cameron tapped her foot nervously. "Each trainer will use three pokemon. When one trainer's three pokemon are all unable to battle, he or she forfeits the match."

Cameron heard the front door burst open behind her. A tall, dark, strikingly attractive woman entered. Her penetrating red-brown eyes flashed at Cameron as she briskly walked over to the bleachers and took a seat in the front row.

"Sabrina," welcomed the Karate King, "how nice of you to join us."

The woman, Sabrina, just nodded subtly in acknowledgement of his remark and gazed critically at the arena. Her presence made Cameron uncomfortable, but she wasn't sure why.

"Trainers," the referee called, "select your first pokemon now!"

The Karate King didn't hesitate.

"Go, Hitmonlee!" he bellowed, hurling his pokeball toward the arena. When the pink, translucent light dissipated, a healthy, strong looking fighting pokemon appeared.

_Level fifty at least,_ Cameron noted. _But which of my pokemon should I choose?_

Cameron decided on Vaporeon, since it had won so many battles for her the day before.

"Vaporeon, I choose you!"

She threw her pokeball, and the water pokemon materialized in front of her. Both Cameron and the Karate King noticed something at the same time. _Shoot! I forgot to take it to a pokemon center after yesterday!_

The pokemon's health points were already half gone.

The Karate King chuckled. "Rookie mistake," he said to her smugly, "everybody knows you should always go into a battle with full HP."

"Let the battle begin!" called the ref.

The King's comment had angered Cameron, and she immediately yelled, "Vaporeon, Quick Attack!"

"Hitmonlee, dodge it and use Hi Jump Kick!"

Both pokemon's attacks missed. Cameron breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that the hitmonlee's health points had been reduced just slightly when it had missed its target and crashed.

The Karate King quickly retaliated with another attack. "Hitmonlee, Rolling Kick!"

"Vaporeon, Water Gun!"

Vaporeon aimed its most powerful Water Gun attack at its foe, but it wasn't enough— the stream of water rolled off the defending pokemon's back like it was nothing, and the pokemon's huge foot collided with Vaporeon and knocked it backwards forcefully.

The water pokemon hit the ground hard, and Cameron immediately knew what the outcome of the attack had been, but she didn't want to believe it.

"Vaporeon, get up! Use Quick Attack!"

But the pokemon was out cold.

"Vaporeon is unable to battle," the referee called out, waving his flag. "Hitmonlee wins!"

Some of the people in the bleachers applauded. Cameron noticed Sabrina in the front row, frowning. _It's like she didn't expect me to lose, _Cameron thought. _Weird._

"So, Miss Ketchum," the Karate King said, smirking, "which pokemon will you choose next, now that you've had a taste of real fighting power?"

Cameron narrowed her eyes. She had an idea.

"Gastly, go!"

She threw her pokeball and the ghost pokemon emerged.

"Gastly," it stated proudly.

_I hope it'll be okay,_ Cameron thought to herself. She hadn't done much battling with Gastly; she'd caught it a couple of weeks ago in Lavender Tower at level twenty-four, but already it was showing signs of having rebellious tendencies. Because Cameron had four gym badges, it was forced to obey her, but it did so reluctantly. Gastly was a pokemon that did not like to be told what to do.

"Ok, Gastly, let's go. Use Night Shade!"

"Hitmonlee, move out of the way!"

The defending pokemon made a flying leap, and Gastly's dark wave of Night Shade only managed to graze its foot. However, Cameron grinned when she saw that the hitmonlee— and its trainer— were alarmed by the intensity of the attack.

The Karate King furrowed his brow as if pondering his next move.

_He doesn't know what to do,_ Cameron thought smugly, _none of Hitmonlee's physical attacks can affect Gastly!_

Finally, the King sighed exasperatedly and instructed, "Hitmonlee, Meditate."

"Bad move, Karate King," Cameron said, "raising Hitmonlee's attack is only going to make things easier for me!"

The King looked at her inquisitively as she called out, "Gastly, Confuse Ray now!"

The pokemon yawned and dawdled momentarily before firing its cool blue wave of an attack at Hitmonlee.

The attack was successful, and its effect was instantaneous. The Karate King watched with a horrified expression on his face as Hitmonlee turned around in circles, disoriented.

"Hitmonlee, don't let her get to you! Use Focus Energy!"

But the pokemon could not comprehend its trainer's words. Instead, it attempted to attack Gastly but hurt itself instead, lobbing off a third of its HP.

Cameron laughed. "Sometimes having a high attack works against you! Gastly, finish it off with… Night Shade!"

Realizing it was about to be the victor of the battle, Gastly attacked enthusiastically.

Too confused to dodge the move, Hitmonlee was consumed by the wave of darkness. When the black fog of Gastly's attack dispersed, the opposing pokemon lay on the ground, unconscious.

The Karate King's jaw dropped. His facial expression was a mixture of disbelief and fury.

"Hitmonlee is unable to battle. Gastly is the victor!" the referee shouted.

Many of the people in the audience cheered for Cameron, who took a bow. In the front row, Sabrina clapped politely, though she did not appear entirely pleased.

Suddenly, Gastly began to glow. Audible gasps from audience members could be heard around the stadium.

"It's evolving!" Someone yelled excitedly.

Cameron watched in awe as the pokemon's form changed shape, growing larger and more angular. When the glow faded, a powerful looking haunter floated in Gastly's place.

"Yes!" Cameron exclaimed gleefully, "Gastly evolved into Haunter!"

Something about the evolution made Cameron feel very proud of the pokemon, and of herself. She hadn't felt that way two days ago, when her eevee had evolved into Vaporeon. _It's because_ _Gastly evolved from real battle experience,_ Cameron speculated. _Eevee only evolved because of that stupid stone._ For the first time, she felt a little bit guilty about using the water stone. But only for a moment.

"Okay, challenger, you may have defeated my first pokemon," said the Karate King to Cameron, "but my next one will not be so easy! Go, Hitmonchan!"

The new pokemon appeared in Hitmonlee's place, already prepared for battle with its guard raised and determined gaze.

"Hitmonchan, Fire Punch it NOW!"

"Dodge it, Haunter!"

"Haunt!" Haunter exclaimed nervously. Its opponent's blow had caught it off guard, and it was only able to evade part of the strong fire type attack.

Cameron looked at her pokemon worriedly as its HP dropped to just above half. _Its level is just not high enough, _she realized, _Hitmonchan's attacks will do too much damage!_

"Haunter, use Confuse Ray!" Confusing the opposing pokemon was Cameron's only chance.

Unfortunately for Cameron, the attack failed to affect Hitmonchan._ Damn it,_ she thought, becoming very anxious about where this battle was going.

"Alright, Hitmonchan, let's finish this! Ice punch!" yelled the Karate King.

Haunter tried to get out of the way, but it was much too slow. Hitmonchan's attack was a critical hit, freezing Haunter solid, and the frozen pokemon dropped to the floor with a "clunk".

The referee waved his flag. "Haunter is unable to battle," he called out, "Hitmonchan wins!"

Cameron looked down at the floor dejectedly. _What can I do now?_ She wondered, _the only pokemon I have left with any chance of winning is Mew, and it won't battle for me._

Mew decided to chime in. _I _am _still upset about how you have acted the last couple of days,_ it communicated to her, _but you've been fighting fair so far, which makes me happy. If you want me to battle, I will, but I won't use psychic attacks. Think of it as a compromise._

Cameron considered this. Psychic attacks were Mew's specialty, and the only advantage it would have over the King's pokemon. _But it _is_ closer to Hitmonchan's level,_ she thought. _All of my other pokemon will get knocked out with one hit._

"Okay," Cameron agreed, somewhat reluctantly. It would be hard to win without psychic attacks, but she'd have to make do. "I choose you, Mew!"

The small, catlike pokemon materialized.

"Mew!" it remarked cheerfully.

Everyone in the dojo, including the other trainers who were battling in the smaller arenas, turned their heads to look at the pokemon Cameron had called out. The audience members in the bleachers gaped and whispered to each other incredulously.

One of the spectators stood up defiantly. "That's impossible!" He yelled, pointing at Mew, "that pokemon is extinct! It must be a fake!"

Cameron glared at him. "I have proof right in front of me that Mew is _not_ extinct," she retaliated. "It's a real pokemon, and there is nothing in the Pokemon League official rules that says I can't use it! So sit down, and mind your own business."

"Humph," the man grunted, and, eyeing her unkindly, he complied.

"It's true," said the Karate King, and Cameron was shocked that he was defending her, "that is obviously a real Mew, and I can't stop her from battling with it."

"Let the battle between the challenger, Mew, and the defending pokemon, Hitmonchan, begin!" exclaimed the referee. "The challenging trainer, Cameron Ketchum, is down to her final pokemon. Will she be able to hang on?"

"Shut up!" Cameron snapped. "Mew, use Metronome!"

There was a pause, the calm before the storm, when Mew glowed as its Metronome selected a random attack.

Then, Mew flew at top speed toward the Karate King's hitmonchan, striking it hard and generating a gust of wind so strong that it blew the people in the front row of the bleachers back, knocking them into the spectators behind them.

Cameron jumped up and down in excitement. _Yes!_ she thought, _Wing Attack! Fighting types are weak against flying type attacks! Nice going, Mew!_

_Thanks, but you know Metronome is random,_ Mew reminded her cautiously. _If you have me use it again we may not be so lucky._

_You always have to see the glass as half empty,_ Cameron commented.

_What glass?_

_Never mind._

To Cameron's delight, the dust cleared and revealed Hitmonchan lying still on the floor of the arena.

"Hitmonchan is unable to battle," verified the referee, "Mew wins!"

This time, the crowd went wild, and Cameron curtsied and bowed and blew them kisses.

_You're really enjoying this, aren't you?_ Mew teased.

_As a matter of fact, I am._

Cameron noticed that Sabrina remained stone faced in the front row. _What is her deal?_ Cameron wondered. _She comes to watch an exciting gym battle, but sits there like a statue the whole time?_

"Ehem," said the Karate King, and Cameron turned her attention back to him, raising an eyebrow.

"I'll admit, you've done well, kid," he said, smiling at her.

"Thanks," Cameron replied guardedly.

"But my last pokemon is the strongest of all," he continued. "In fact, it is undefeated! Get ready for… Machamp!"

He threw his pokeball— an ultraball, Cameron noted— and Mew's final opponent was revealed.

It was the most massive, toughest looking machamp Cameron had ever seen. It had to be at least level sixty— a higher level even than Mew. She gulped but tried to keep her cool.

"Machamp, huh?" she said sardonically. "It'll be a "Ma-chump" when I'm through with it!"

"We'll see about that," said the Karate King, grinning.

"Mew, Metronome!" _Come on, please let it be another flying type attack…_

The pokemon glowed once again… and then a cute, soft cry came out of its mouth.

_GROWL?_ Cameron communicated disbelievingly, _that's _it_?_

_It's not my fault! _Mew responded embarrassedly.

The Karate King burst out laughing. "BWAHAHAHAHA! The mighty Mew's Growl is terrifying! I'm shaking in my black belt!"

He then composed himself, looking at Cameron and Mew determinedly. "Here's something a lot scarier," he said, lowering his voice. "Machamp, Seismic Toss!"

The pokemon moved so quickly that Cameron didn't have time to react. Its arms were around Mew, and it pushed up with its muscular legs to propel both pokemon upward. Then, still in the air, Machamp flung Mew forcefully down to the floor.

The pokemon hit with a sickening "smack". Mew had its wind knocked out momentarily, lying still on the ground, gasping for air.

_Oh no,_ Cameron thought, genuinely worried about her pokemon for a moment. But then, the small creature began to pick itself up again. Cameron breathed a sigh of relief when she realized that well over half of Mew's health points remained.

The Karate King immediately instructed Machamp to attack again, but this time Mew was ready. It darted out of the way, and the opposing pokemon's arms wrapped around thin air.

"Mew, use…" Cameron made a frustrated noise. She wished she could just tell Mew to use Psychic, which would undoubtedly finish Machamp off, but she knew Mew wouldn't listen to her if she did. "… Mega Punch," she finished unenthusiastically.

Mew obeyed, and the back of its fist connected with the opposing pokemon's jaw. It was a powerful blow, but Machamp's HP was so high that the attack only lowered it by a quarter.

_This isn't good, _Cameron thought nervously. _Machamp's attacks damage Mew a lot more than Mew's attacks hurt Machamp._

"Hahaha," the Karate King chuckled, "is Mew struggling with its psychic abilities? You'll never prevail against Machamp's fighting power with mere physical attacks!"

He turned to his pokemon.

"Machamp, finish it! Fissure!" The pokemon drove its fist into the ground, causing the entire floor of the arena to rumble. Some of the people in the bleachers screamed in alarm.

"Mew, get off the ground!" Cameron shrieked, her heart pounding. Fissure would render Mew unconscious with one hit!

Mew barely missed the attack, lifting off the floor just as the wave of energy passed under its feet. _Whew,_ thought Cameron, _if Machamp tries that again, I don't know if I can get Mew out of the way fast enough…_

Desperately, Cameron reached out to Mew. _Mew, use your psychic attacks,_ she begged, _please? We're so close to winning!_

_No way, _Mew responded firmly, _I want you to learn what it's like to battle for real, instead of using me or your own psychic abilities to win all your battles._

"But that's not fair!" Cameron cried aloud, not thinking. _Oops_, she thought to herself as she noticed members of the audience giving each other strange looks. _It must look like I'm talking to myself, _she realized. Sabrina, she noted, looked oddly intrigued. Her red-brown eyes were fixed on Cameron as she made her next move.

"Machamp, this time will do it! FISSURE!" cried the Karate King.

_A trainer's got to do what a trainer's got to do,_ Cameron decided reluctantly. Mew couldn't keep dodging these attacks forever. If it wouldn't use _its_ Psychic…

"Mew, use Psychic!" Cameron yelled, hoping that nobody noticed her glowing eyes.

_What? _Mew inquired, confused until it saw what she was about to do. _No, Cameron, what are you doing?! _

Cameron conjured a wave of pure psychic energy in the middle of the arena like a tornado, allowing it to expand and absorb more power for a moment. Then, she telekinetically propelled it toward Machamp.

"What is _that_?" The Karate King yelled, apparently mystified by the nature of the attack. Normal Psychic attacks looked nothing like Cameron's, and they were nowhere near as intense.

The swirling mass of psychic energy enveloped Machamp, and the Karate King could only watch as his pokemon's HP dropped to zero.

The move baffled even the referee. When he saw Machamp passed out on the floor of the arena, it appeared that even he didn't know what to make of it at first.

"Well," he finally said, a little indecisively, "it appears Machamp is unable to battle. Mew wins the round. Cameron Ketchum is the victor!"

Cameron heard a few spectators in the audience applaud, but mostly, it seemed that everyone was confused as to what happened. _I should have tried to make it look more like a pokemon attack, _Cameron thought, _but_ _I was so caught up in the moment…_

_If you think I will ever battle for you again, _Mew projected furiously, _you couldn't be more wrong! Right now, I am ashamed that you are my trainer._ It retreated into its pokeball without Cameron recalling it.

Although Mew's remark had made Cameron angry, she was feeling another emotion even more strongly— shame. _It's Mew's fault for not using psychic attacks,_ she tried to tell herself, but it didn't console her.

Sabrina stood up from her seat in the bleachers, a stern look on her pale, thin face.

"Wait," she said to the referee, holding her hand up. "I have reason to believe that this trainer battled dishonestly— her pokemon alone was not responsible for that last attack!"

People in the audience eyed Cameron, whispering to each other.

_Uh-oh,_ Cameron thought, her stomach turning.

"Using methods other than pokemon attacks and items to win a pokemon battle violates the regulations of the Pokemon League," Sabrina said, gazing at Cameron severely.

Cameron froze. _How had she known? Had Sabrina seen her eyes, or had she just been able to sense it somehow?_

"As the president of the Kanto Gym Leaders Council, I hereby disqualify you from the Pokemon League Challenge!"

The spectators gasped, and Cameron's jaw dropped. _No, _she thought, her heart sinking, _this can't be happening._

Abruptly, Cameron heard the front doors of the dojo swing open, and a tall figure stepped inside, casting a long shadow across the gym floor.

"Wait!" the figure's deep voice called.

Everyone was silent.

The man walked forward towards the main arena, revealing his black hair, smooth skin, and piercing violet eyes.

Cameron looked away, mortified. _Why did he have to show up _now_?_ However, she was surprised by what Mewtwo said next.

"I would appreciate it if you would postpone your decision to revoke Miss Ketchum's League Challenge privileges just for the moment. I can explain," the man stated, addressing Sabrina.

She narrowed her eyes at him skeptically.

"Who are _you_?" she questioned.

"Most people know me as Michael Silver," he answered calmly, "and I am Cameron's father."


	7. Sabrina's ESP

Author's Note:

Once again, I apologize for the late post. I blame life. Anyway, here's the seventh chapter! The plot thickens…

**Brisenberg: **I'm glad you found Chapter 6 exciting! I had a ton of fun writing that one, with the huge pokemon battle and what not. This chapter has a little bit less action and mainly just moves the plot forward… and hopefully it has a few more "story twists" for you!

**StarWriterWG: **Cliff hangers are part of my job description. ;) Ah, yes… The Black Tulip. I decided not to refer to her as such in this fic because, "A", usually, in this series, we only see her have contact with either Giovanni or someone that doesn't know who she is. Giovanni, being a "fellow agent" of sorts, would refer to her as "Domino". And "B", it would be really lame having to write, "'The Black Tulip' said this" and "'The Black Tulip' said that" a whole bunch. Makes it sound like I'm writing for Marvel Comics or something. Let me know what you think of the covers… they're pretty much my first attempt at digital fan art, ever.

**Sakura Tachi: **Hola! Espero que Google Translate hace su trabajo aquí (solo hablo Inglés, que sé que es cojo). Gracias por tus comentarios agradables de mis historias! Espero que disfruten de este capítulo tanto como el anterior.

Anyway, enjoy, and, as always, REVIEW! :-)

~TheFrogFromHell

**Chapter 7**

A hush fell around the dojo. _This doesn't make sense,_ Sabrina thought to herself, furrowing her brow in confusion, _I thought that Ash Ketchum was this girl's father._

"Wait a second," interjected the Karate King. Sabrina and this strange man, Mr. Silver, turned to face him. "That girl told me herself that Ash Ketchum, the Viridian Gym Leader, was her father. And she looks like him! I don't believe she's your daughter."

"Ash is my… adopted father," Cameron interrupted, avoiding Mr. Silver's gaze.

Sabrina studied the man's face scrupulously. _They have the same eyes, _she noted; their unusual violet color was hard to miss. She decided to search a little more deeply, under the surface.

Concentrating hard, she eased herself into Mr. Silver's mind. She was able to enter with little difficulty, which was interesting; most decent psychics knew how to guard against others penetrating their thoughts. _He must _want_ me to know something he's thinking, _she realized.

_His mind is… very strange, _Sabrina thought as she was overcome by an unfamiliar sensation. There was something off about Mr. Silver's brainwaves; they didn't seem quite… _normal._ It was as if his mind functioned completely differently from every other human's on the planet.

Sabrina gasped and her heartbeat accelerated. She had seen a flash of something shocking; something impossible. _This man is… not human…_

Suddenly, Mr. Silver shut her out of his thoughts forcefully and erected a strong mental barrier. _He didn't mean for me to witness that,_ Sabrina suspected, and that scared her. This man— or, whatever he was— was extremely powerful, and within his mind there was something dark and mysterious, something that frightened Sabrina.

Sabrina cleared her throat. They had been standing in silence for a few minutes, and the audience, Cameron, and the Karate King had begun to grow restless.

"I have no doubt that this man is indeed Cameron's father," she said loudly enough for everyone to hear. Once again, whispers echoed throughout the dojo. A little more softly, she added, "his psychic signature is virtually identical to hers."

The Karate King nodded that he understood. Sabrina had been friends with the man for years, and, although he wasn't psychic himself, he knew all about her abilities and what she could use them for.

"Sabrina," Mr. Silver said softly to her, "I believe it would be prudent to have a… private conversation." He eyed Cameron sternly. Sabrina noticed that the girl gave him an equally intense, if not slightly more malicious, look. _They are definitely father and daughter, _she thought, _but after what I saw just now… it just doesn't add up!_

"Certainly," Sabrina agreed evenly, nodding her head. She was a little afraid of this man, but somehow she knew he didn't intend to harm her.

"Cameron," Mr. Silver said authoritatively to his daughter, "Sabrina and I are going outside to have a short discussion. I forbid you to leave this building; you must stay inside until I return. Understood?"

"Whatever," the girl replied, once again staring at the gym floor.

Once outside, the man looked at Sabrina and sighed.

"I suppose it would be futile to attempt to erase your memories," he said.

"Yes," Sabrina agreed, tremendously curious as to what he planned to tell her. She was surprised when he communicated to her telepathically.

_What I am about to reveal to you, no one knows_, he projected, _for both our sakes, I am asking you not to share this information with anyone. Understand?_

She nodded. His telepathic words were the most clear and concise she had ever encountered; he must have had a lot of practice with it, or maybe he preferred this method of communication to speaking.

He continued. _I am unsure of exactly what you witnessed in my thoughts, but I do suspect you saw my pokemon form, among other things. What you saw were real memories. It is true; I am a pokemon. Actually, I am the strongest psychic pokemon in existence._

Although Sabrina had already seen this inside Mr. Silver's head, she was still having difficultly comprehending such a notion.

_I believe you,_ Sabrina responded honestly, _but I do not understand. Never has it been documented that a pokemon could shape shift into a human. The only comparable process is a pokemon using Transform, but never has one ever been able to become human that way. It is impossible._

_It is indeed very difficult_, the man (or, rather, the pokemon) said, _but it is not impossible. Perhaps I will explain the complex, intricate process behind it to you someday, but, at the moment, we have more pressing matters to attend to._

_That's true, _Sabrina agreed. Right now, she had an unbelievably strong, undocumented, and out of control psychic teenager on her hands. Yes, she could go ahead with disqualifying the girl from the Pokemon League Challenge, but she was beginning to doubt that that was the best plan. _Doing so right now might be enough to send her over the edge,_ Sabrina thought, _and whether I am strong enough to subdue her or not, that is not a battle I want to be responsible for starting._

_My thoughts exactly, _Mr. Silver communicated, taking Sabrina by surprise; she hadn't realized he would be able to hear her thoughts. _Although I am certain that you and I together could restrain her, the repercussions of such a conflict could be a bit… messy, _he finished, and Sabrina nodded.

_Which brings me to my point— a request, actually, that I would like to make of you, if you are willing._

Sabrina narrowed her eyes. She was still wary of the intentions of this strange being; she had definitely seen something ugly inside his mind earlier; something that told her that, at least at some point, this man had not considered the wellbeing of humans a priority.

"What kind of request?" Sabrina asked aloud.

Mr. Silver took a deep breath. _My daughter needs training, _he projected. _She needs a guide— a mentor, really— to teach her how to harness her psychic abilities._

Sabrina thought she knew where he was going with this. _You can't mean…_

_I was going to attempt it myself, _he explained, _but Cameron and I… we have learned from experience that it is very trying for us to coexist together peacefully. I believe the dynamic between us would make it very difficult, if not impossible, to accomplish anything productive together._

_But why _me_? _Sabrina inquired. _You've only just met me, and, although I have experience with psychic pokemon and a few psychic humans, I have never encountered anyone like your daughter. I wouldn't know where to begin._ The girl had seemed so powerful that Sabrina wasn't even sure her own abilities would be enough to handle her. Sabrina had a feeling that she could, but if the two ever clashed, it would require all of her strength to keep Cameron under control. This was something Sabrina was unused to; all of the psychics who worked with her at the Saffron gym put together still only possessed a fraction of her power.

_You already know the answer to your question, _Mr. Silver responded. _You are the only other psychic I have ever come across with abilities that rival my own. I had heard of you before we met today, but never had I suspected that you would be as strong as I sense you are._

Sabrina sighed. _He's right,_ she thought to herself, _if not me, then whom? The girl is obviously resentful of her father for whatever reason, and it is unlikely she would submit to intensive training from him. _She remembered the hostile look that Cameron had given Mr. Silver before they had exited the gym.

_This is what I suggest, _Mr. Silver continued. _You give her a choice— to either agree to undergo training from you, or to forfeit her gym badges and accept disqualification from the Pokemon League Challenge. While I admit there is a small possibility she will not take either option, I find it most likely she will choose the training, and, therefore, confrontation will be avoided._

Mr. Silver's proposal made sense, and Sabrina knew he would not have asked her if he had a better option. A little incredulous that she was actually agreeing, Sabrina said aloud, "okay. I'll do it."

The man breathed a sigh of relief. _I thank you greatly, _he communicated telepathically. _Although I am unsure how at this point, you _will_ receive compensation. _

"Um… thank you," Sabrina replied uncertainly.

_However… there is one more thing. Something I have withheld from you._

Sabrina's heart rate increased again. _Maybe he is going to explain what I sensed in his thoughts, _she speculated.

_Cameron is in danger, _Mr. Silver said. Sabrina hadn't expected that.

_What? What kind of danger?_

_I am not at liberty to say, but there are… others, similar to myself. They are looking for her, and they plan to destroy her, _he answered vaguely.

Sabrina was alarmed. _Others_ like him? Did he mean that agreeing to take Cameron under her wing meant that she would be endangered by frighteningly powerful creatures?

_I'm not sure I like the sound of that, _she projected cautiously.

_They are not nearly as strong as I am, _he assured her. _I have no doubt that you would be able to overpower them if they were to come for her. Against you and Cameron together, they would be no match. But in addition to Cameron's training, you would need to protect her. To keep an eye on her at all times and make sure she was safe._

Sabrina gazed at him, and for the first time she noticed the loving concern in his eyes. _He deeply cares about her, _she thought, seeing Mr. Silver in a different light. _He really _is _her father._

All of this new information was overwhelming Sabrina, and she wished she could take a day or two to mull it all over before taking it on. But she sensed that Mr. Silver didn't have time for that; this was an urgent matter.

"Okay," she said, "I'll take care of her and make sure she is protected." She gave him a stern look. "But you have to stay in contact with me. I won't allow you to just leave her here with me and never return. I may need your guidance… you have more experience with her than I do."

The man nodded. "Of course," he replied, "that is to be expected."

"And it's up to you to decide what her punishment will be for last night."

Mr. Silver looked at her strangely. "Last night?" he asked.

_You mean, you don't know? _Sabrina thought, not happy that she was going to be the one to break the news. "I'm sorry… I thought you had heard. My associate informed me that last night, Cameron crashed a party at a nightclub downtown. She convinced the bartenders to hand out free drinks and had everyone believing she was some celebrity. It sounded like a pretty big scene…"

Sabrina momentarily noticed a flash of fury in Mr. Silver's eyes before he recomposed himself. "Well… that is something that will need to be dealt with as well. I will determine a proper punishment, but for now, let us proceed as planned."

Suddenly, Sabrina heard the ringing of a cell phone emanating from the bushes.

…

"_Damn _it!" Domino whispered to herself. She thought she'd turned the ringer off!

"Reveal yourself!" exclaimed a deep, intimidating male voice from outside her hiding place.

"_Eep_!"Domino shrieked, and she reluctantly emerged from behind the bush. _They can read my thoughts, _she realized frantically, and she tried to conceal her intentions from them by repeating over and over again in her head, _I just wanted to see the battle, I just wanted to see the battle, I just wanted to see the battle…_

"What are you doing listening in on our conversation?" Sabrina, the Saffron Gym leader questioned distrustfully.

"Nothing!" Domino squealed, "I just came to see the battle, and then I followed you out here. I just wanted to know what was going on, that's all, I swear!"

The dark haired man— Mewtwo, in human form, Domino knew, though it was hard to believe— said, "You look very familiar. Have we met before?"

Anxiously, Domino adjusted her dark glasses to make sure they fully covered her eyes, and, still repeating "I just wanted to see the battle" over and over again in her head, she smiled and said cheerfully, "Nope! You look like a total stranger to me! Anyway, great battle… I gotta run! See ya!" She turned around and took off sprinting. Fortunately for her, they didn't try to stop her.

_Whew, _she thought, _that was a close one. _When she was far enough from the dojo, she stopped running, gasping for air. She doubled over, supporting herself with her hands on her knees. _Man, I've really got to hit the elliptical, _she decided, frowning. _My cardio fitness sucks._

When she had recovered enough to talk, she took her phone out of her pocket and looked at the screen.

**!3 missed calls!**

**Giovanni**

"Aarrggghh!" she grumbled to herself, "I _told _him I was gonna call when I was done at the dojo! Gawd!"

Scoffing, she dialed her boss's number.

He picked up immediately. Without acknowledging her at all, he demanded, "what did you find out about Mewtwo's daughter?"

"Y'know boss, most people expect a friendly 'hello' when you pick up the phone…"

"What did you find out?!"

Domino sighed exasperatedly. "Not much," she said unenthusiastically. "She won the battle by making this huge energy cloud thing, and then Sabrina, that psychic gym leader chick, was about to disqualify her from the League, but then Mewtwo in human form made her come outside with him to talk."

"And?" Giovanni asked expectantly.

"And… nothing! They just kind of stood there staring at each other. It was really boring. I thought this mission was going to be exciting!"

"Your immaturity never ceases to mystify me," Giovanni said to her, and she growled at him irritably. "They must have been communicating telepathically. That means the conversation was about something important they wanted to keep private…"

"Well, Sabrina did say out loud "I'll watch her and make sure she is protected" or something like that. I guess she was talking about the daughter. But, like, protected from _what?_"

"Hmmm," Giovanni replied, sounding intrigued. "So Sabrina is caring for Mewtwo's child… interesting. That means the girl will likely be staying in Saffron City, which means Mewtwo may remain close by…"

Domino examined her fingernails. She honestly did not care one bit about Mewtwo. Giovanni had been tracking the psychic pokemon for years, and he had never been successful at catching it. _Why doesn't he just give it up?_ she wondered. _This is such a waste of time._

"You know, boss, if you want a psychic pokemon, why don't you just go catch an abra or something?" Domino suggested brightly. "I mean, you could train it up, evolve it into a kadabra, and then an alakazam. That would be _so much easier_ than trying to catch Mewtwo _again_. And hey, it couldn't be _that_ much less powerful, could it?"

CLICK.

Giovanni had hung up the phone. _Gawd, I was just trying to help, _Domino thought, irritated. _Why do I put up with him treating me like this?_


	8. Viridian City Gym

Author's Note:

This story diverges from both the anime and game canons in this chapter. This fic has been a sort of combination of universes so far, which is apparent here. Anyway, in this universe, which I'll call "Frogverse", Ash has never met Giovanni before. He, Misty and Brock have dealt with Jesse and James in the past as they did in the anime, but they never met the Team Rocket boss face to face. Ash doesn't know that Giovanni was behind Misty's kidnapping in "Monster" because he left so abruptly after she returned home.

**StarWriterWG: **I'll keep this brief, since now I can message you! Thanks for the correction; I fixed it right away. Since I am basically un-beta'd, I do miss things occasionally. And, with, "Black Tulip", a little comic relief was exactly what I'd intended! I'm happy it came across. Glad you liked the covers!

**PikaMewGirl: **Aaaah, thank you for clarifying (and for the compliment). :-)

Anyway, without further preamble… here is "Hybrid", chapter 8! Please read and REVIEW!

~TheFrogFromHell

**Chapter 8**

_Time to finish this thing off, _Ash thought, grinning. The challenger he was facing had only one pokemon left, and it was down to just three health points.

"Charizard, Hyper Beam now!"

The dragon-like creature roared and directed its most powerful attack at its opponent, a battered and exhausted looking ivysaur. The battle actually had been fairly close, with both Ash and the trainer having had two of their pokemon knocked out, until Ash had called out Charizard.

_Always a game winner, _he thought proudly as the ivysaur's HP dropped to zero.

When Ash had been one of the Elite Four, Lance had convinced him to use TM15 to teach Hyper Beam to Charizard even though Ash had traditionally preferred to allow his pokemon to learn new moves on their own. However, it had proved to be an excellent choice, and the attack had won him many battles since then. _Thanks, Lance, _Ash thought wistfully.

Ash had worked at Indigo Plateau for about seven years, two as the defending Champion and five as one of the Elite himself. He had loved the job; if winning pokemon battles for a living wasn't Ash Ketchum's calling, then he didn't know what was.

For the first four years of being one of the Elite Four, Ash had been unstoppable. His record had been the best in history for a period, far better than that of Agatha, the retiring trainer that he had replaced. He had felt especially accomplished (and had boasted incessantly to Misty for about a year) because his rival, Gary, who had briefly been the Champion before Ash, had also applied for the position, and Ash had been offered the job.

But when Ash had found out the ugly truth about Misty and The Thing, everything had changed.

After he had left his and Misty's home to live at the Plateau, he had slipped into a deep depression. Each morning, it had become harder and harder for Ash to get out of bed. His appetite had decreased, and he had lost a noticeable amount of weight as a result. He had neglected to groom himself properly, and he had begun to show up to battles appearing unkempt and overwrought.

The other members of the Elite Four had been concerned. They had tried to talk to him, but he had refused to open up to them. _They will never understand what it's like to have your life turned upside down— to discover that the last eight years of your life have all been a lie, _he had thought bitterly at the time.

Naturally, Ash's job performance had also suffered because of his depression. His record had dropped from the best in history to one of the lowest overall victory rates ever in just a few months. There had been a couple of weeks in which Ash had lost every single battle he fought.

The League had taken appropriate measures, first moving him from the Anchor position (the last trainer that challengers fought, usually reserved for the strongest Elite Four member) to Second, which usually encompassed the weakest trainer in the bunch (Bruno had held the position until then, and it had been humbling to Ash when the League had determined that _Bruno_ had a better record than him).

Eventually, Ash's condition had worsened to the point where he could barely function. He had behaved very unprofessionally, showing up late for battles and forgetting to heal his pokemon between matches. Because of this, the Pokemon League Council had finally been forced to let him go. To add insult to injury, Gary Oak had been asked to fill Ash's position.

For a few months, Ash had been jobless and aimless. Money hadn't been a problem, since he'd accumulated so much in his years of working at the Plateau, but that hadn't made him feel any better.

His woes had driven him to begin drinking more than was healthy. After being forced to move out of the Elite Four housing, he'd rented himself an apartment in Celadon City. There, he'd spent his days gambling at the Game Corner and purchasing useless collectables at the Celadon Department Store. His evenings had been wiled away watching TV specials and throwing back bottles of Black Daniels like they were cola.

After ignoring Misty for months, he had taken to calling her at odd hours of the night after the liquor had given him courage to do so. At first, she had been sympathetic, speaking to him nicely even though he had undoubtedly sounded extremely drunk. She had always told him that Cameron was doing fine, and had shared some other miscellaneous details about her life (always leaving out The Thing, Ash had noted).

But when the late night calls had started occurring more and more frequently, Misty had begun to respond to them less patiently. Rather than feigning interest in having a conversation with her ex husband, she had simply told him, "It's late. I'm hanging up and going to bed."

She must have installed caller I.D. soon after that, because Ash's calls were answered with the "click" of someone hanging up the phone from that point on.

There was one night that Ash, too drunk to drive safely, had shown up at Misty's door at around midnight, parking his car so poorly that part of it covered her lawn. He had begun to make his way up to the doorstep, but, to his surprise, a tall, severe looking man with black hair had emerged instead of Misty. Something about the way the man had held himself and his intimidating gaze had been very familiar to Ash, yet he had been sure he had never met this man before.

Ash had been confused; he had thought that if anyone lived there besides his ex wife and their daughter, it was The Thing.

The man had not said anything, but from the hard expression on his face, Ash had inferred he would not be invited in. Dejectedly, Ash had gotten back into his car and driven away.

The next day, Misty had given him a call.

"Don't you ever call here, or show up here again," she had instructed him firmly. "If you do, I will file a restraining order. Goodbye, Ash."

He had believed her, and had respected her wishes.

That had been his rock bottom; there had been nowhere to go but up from that point.

Slowly, he had started to drink and gamble less frequently. He had begun to care of himself again, eating regular meals, getting to bed at a reasonable hour each night, and showering and dressing himself each morning. He hadn't known where his life was going, but he had made the decision to refuse to allow Misty's rejection of him to ruin it.

To Ash's contentment, this paradigm shift had proved to be rewarding.

One morning, he had received a call from Sabrina, the head of the Kanto Gym Leaders Council. Apparently, Giovanni Sorrentino, the man who had run the establishment for almost twenty years, had been "asked to step down", and Sabrina wanted to know if Ash would be willing to replace him. _Giovanni,_ Ash had thought, _wasn't he the man involved in that bizarre Cinnabar Island Lab scandal? And wasn't there a rumor that Misty was there?_ Ash had known that Misty had been kidnapped by Team Rocket several months ago, but she had never told him who had been behind it; Ash had assumed she didn't know. He guessed it didn't matter; he wasn't about to ask her now anyway.

Ash had considered the offer for a moment before answering. It had been months since Ash had battled, and he'd been losing almost every pokemon match he'd fought at the time he'd left Indigo Plateau. _Do I really still have what it takes to be a gym leader? _he had wondered. Something inside him had told him, "yes".

"Okay," Ash had answered definitively, "when do I start?"

It seemed that the slump he'd fallen into at the end of his Elite Four career had only been a phase. Almost immediately after he'd started work at the Viridian Gym, his passion for pokemon battles had returned, and word had spread that Ash was a very tough gym leader to defeat.

Also, Ash had quickly found that he greatly preferred living in Viridian over living in Celadon. Although Viridian may have been named as a city, it was really more like a quaint, small town that seemed to be in harmony with nature. One only needed to travel a few blocks to reach Viridian Forest, and nearby were several gorgeous hiking trails that Ash had familiarized himself with over the years. He had found he enjoyed the calm, meditative state that could only be achieved in a quiet place like Viridian.

Although he was still emotionally scarred because of Misty, Ash slowly but surely began to enjoy his life again. He hadn't liked the Viridian Gym quite as much as he'd enjoyed battling in the polished, elaborate arenas of Indigo Plateau, but it was still a satisfying post, and Ash had (mostly) let go and accepted that that era of his life had come to an end.

"Aww, man," the challenging trainer lamented, retrieving her ivysaur. Her words pulled Ash back into the moment.

Ash stepped down from the raised area designated for the gym leader and walked over to her.

She was a cute girl of perhaps fourteen. She was small and thin, and she reminded Ash a bit of Cameron, who he still missed and thought about a lot.

"Listen," he said to her consolingly, "you did really well today. For a minute there, I thought you had me!"

She looked up at him and frowned. "No you didn't," she pouted, "you knew you were going to win."

Ash sighed. "Okay, maybe I did," he admitted, "but so what? It was still a great battle! You took out two of my strongest pokemon, and most people who come in here can't even do that. Keep training, er…" He'd forgotten her name.

"Melissa," she reminded him, "Mel for short."

"Keep training, Mel. I bet that in no time at all, you'll be able to beat me with no problem, and you'll have a shiny new Earthbadge to add to your collection."

The girl cracked a smile. "You think so?"

"I do!"

"Okay," she said, "I'll keep training. But the only thing is, I have a problem— I've already beaten everyone around, and there's nobody left to fight to get stronger. What should I do?"

"Hmmm," Ash thought to himself for a moment. _She's the third trainer to ask me about that this week, _he remembered. "Well, what about this. I know of a few trainers like you, Mel, that are looking for opponents to battle. What if we started, I don't know, some kind of club that will meet every week to battle each other? We could do it in the basement downstairs."

The girl widened her eyes and smiled broadly. "That would be awesome!" she exclaimed.

"Yeah, I think so too," Ash agreed. "I'll see if I can set something up. I'll tell you what; come back in a week, and I'll try to have somebody ready to battle you then. I think I should be able to find at least one person, but if for some reason I can't, I'll just battle you again myself. Not an official gym match; just a practice."

"That sounds great!" Mel said, and she looked at him adoringly. "I'll be here for sure!" She held his gaze for a little too long. _Uh-oh,_ Ash thought to himself. Sometimes, after he battled female trainers, they would start hanging around the gym for a while, dropping in to "say hello" and such. He'd thought nothing of it at first until his assistant, Olivia, had pointed out that they probably all had crushes on him. He'd been surprised by that; he was thirty-two years old, after all, and most of these girls were in their teens. However, he knew he didn't look thirty-two, especially now that he'd cleaned himself up and appeared healthier. He still couldn't even buy anything alcoholic without getting carded.

"Um, okay. Great." He smiled, trying to look friendly. He didn't want to encourage anything, especially with a girl this young.

"Yeah!"

There was an awkward silence.

"Well, okay… bye, Ash! I'll see you next week!"

"Okay. See you, Mel."

The girl headed for the door, glancing back over her shoulder a couple times before reaching the exit.

Once she'd left the building, Ash shook his head.

"Hi, Ash! I'm back for the battle! This is so exciting!" Ash heard someone say behind him. The voice sounded exactly like Mel's, which made no sense…

Ash turned around to see his assistant, Olivia, standing on the gym leader's platform. In one hand, she held a phone, and, in her other arm, she held Pikachu, who exclaimed, "chaaa!" and scampered over to Ash. It was a break day for Pikachu, so the pokemon had not participated in any battles that day. Pikachu was somewhere around twenty years old now (Ash wasn't exactly sure what the pokemon's age had been when Professor Oak had caught it in the wild), which was far past middle aged for most species of pokemon, so Ash was always careful not to push it too hard.

"Haha," Ash said sarcastically, scratching Pikachu's head, "very funny, Liv. Or should I say… Copycat?"

She glared at him. When she had been a little girl, Ash had gathered that everyone had called her that as a nickname because she was so talented at imitating others, but now that she was an adult, she had ditched the name because she thought it sounded "juvenile".

"We're going to talk about this later," she promised, "but right now, you have a phone call." She head up the black cordless office phone, and Ash retrieved it from her.

"Hello?"

"Hello. This is Ash Ketchum, I presume?"

Ash didn't recognize the speaker's voice. It was male, and its pitch was low with a smooth, polished tenor.

"Er… yeah, that's me."

"It is a pleasure to speak with you. This is Giovanni Sorrentino, the man who previously led the Viridian Gym."

It was difficult to read this man's voice. It was as if he was either being very friendly, or speaking evenly in an attempt to control his anger, and Ash couldn't decide which.

"Umm… hello," Ash said hesitantly. Pikachu gave him an inquisitive look.

The man chuckled, and Ash thought it sounded a little forced, but he couldn't be sure.

"I realize that this call might seem strange to you, but truthfully I am simply calling to have a conversation."

Giovanni's words somehow did not make Ash feel any better. Ash had now been leading Viridian Gym for years, and he'd never heard from its previous owner before. _So why is he calling now? There must be some motive behind it, _Ash thought.

"Just so you are aware, I have no qualms with the way you've been handling my gym. I hear you are quite the trainer, and it pleases me that someone with such an… _impressive_ record has taken over my position. Bravo, Mr. Ketchum."

_He still calls it "his" gym, _Ash noted, and he wondered whether Giovanni's comment about his record was a compliment or a carefully disguised poke at his failed Elite Four career.

"Thanks," Ash said flatly.

"Oh, no, I meant that very sincerely," Giovanni assured him, "I realize you may have had some difficulty for whatever reason at the end, but what you have accomplished at Indigo Plateau is nothing to be taken lightly. To speak candidly, Mr. Ketchum, I hold the firm belief that you are the strongest, and the best, trainer to ever battle as an Elite and that it was a grave, foolish mistake for the Council to remove you from that position."

Ash warmed to Giovanni a little at those words.

"Well… thank you, Mr. Sorrentino."

"Please, call me Giovanni. It would be an honor to be on a first-name basis with you, Ash."

"Alright, Giovanni," Ash said. "What can I do for you?"

"Well, I do have a request to make… just a small one, if it seems it would be something you'd like to do. But first I wanted to share something personal with you, if you don't mind."

_Something personal? _"Uh, okay," said Ash curiously, giving Giovanni permission to continue.

"Several years ago," the man began, "I was going through a trying time in my life, as I suspect you were at around the same time. Some research I was doing with a group of colleagues turned… sour, in simple terms, and I was falsely accused of a crime I did not, and would never, commit."

Ash was still on the fence about whether or not he believed that entirely. He still remembered the newspaper articles he'd read about Giovanni years ago, and the story _had_ sounded suspicious at the time.

"Go on," Ash encouraged him. _Maybe hearing his point of view will give me a better idea,_ he thought.

"Anyway, the result was that my gym, my life's work and my largest accomplishment, was stripped away from me. Pokemon training and battling has always been, and still remains, my greatest passion, and it was devastating to me to have to give up my position as gym leader just because of false allegations."

Ash could sympathize with that. "It was like that for me too," he said regretfully, "I loved my job at Indigo Plateau, and after a couple of rough weeks, they let me go just like that." He knew saying "a couple of rough weeks" was a bit inaccurate, but he didn't care.

"That is appalling," Giovanni said distastefully. "Being in a position of power can corrupt so."

"Yeah," Ash agreed, some of his old resentment regarding the Pokemon League Council resurfacing.

Down at Ash's feet, Pikachu was becoming antsy. Since it had been Ash's pokemon for so many years, it was very in tune with his emotions, and Ash was sure it could sense his residual anger.

"Which brings me to my request," Giovanni said. Very interested by now, Ash listened carefully. "Although I realize am being selfish by asking something of you the first time we have spoken, I believe that, if you accept, it will benefit both of us."

"Okay," Ash said, "what is it?"

"Ash, you are destined for the Elite Four, just as I am destined to lead the Viridian Gym. You and I are meant for greatness, and we do not deserve to be treated like we are expendable by a council sitting around a table."

"Yeah," Ash agreed firmly, "that's true!"

"With that said, this is what I suggest: you assist me in arranging a meeting between you, the members of the Kanto Gym Leaders Council as well as the Elite Four, and we'll see if we can't get things sorted out. We'll return you to your position as one of the Elite, and I will reclaim my post as Viridian Gym Leader."

Ash frowned. _That's a lot easier said than done…_

"Well, that would be great, Giovanni, but what makes you think they'll actually listen to us? I mean, we did both get fired…"

"Never mind it," replied Giovanni sharply. The friendly tone of his voice had dissipated just slightly, and Ash had heard something underneath it that wasn't entirely pleasant. A little more gently, the man continued. "Don't you worry about that. I have collected plenty of evidence that is bound to make them, at the very least, consider our offer. One important point is, and I'm sure you're aware of this already, that Indigo Plateau has, currently, one of the lowest winning rates in history."

Ash smiled a little, despite himself. _It's because they've got Gary as Anchor, _he thought smugly.

"Another point is, when I led the Viridian Gym, I had many well respected trainers who worked under me. Although the Council tried to convince them to stay after my dismissal, they were too loyal and refused to. I'm sure the possibility of having them back will sweeten the offer a bit."

_Those are good points, _Ash considered, beginning to feel a little more optimistic.

"I'll think about it," Ash said.

"Ash, even if my evidence thus far does not satisfy you, please trust me when I say that there is much, much more we can use to improve our odds with the Council. Over the years I have accumulated many… connections."

_Connections?_ That part sounded kind of strange to Ash, and he was a little alarmed by the desperation in the Giovanni's voice.

"I said I'd think about it," Ash said again, a little less patiently.

"Alright. Thank you so much for your time," Giovanni said kindly. "I certainly hope everything will resolve itself… after my accident, and all the medical bills, the gym is my only hope."

Ash softened a little. _That's right… one of those newspaper articles said he was badly hurt in that laboratory incident. I may have been fired, but it would have been ten times worse if I had lost my job _and _not been able to walk anymore like Giovanni…_

Ash sighed into the phone. "Okay," he finally agreed, "I will call Sabrina later today and try to arrange something. But I can't make any guarantees."

"Many thanks, Ash," Giovanni replied. "You are an excellent trainer, and an even better man."

"Uh… thanks," Ash said. He didn't know how to respond to Giovanni's compliments; they made him a little uncomfortable somehow.

"Goodbye, and take care."

"Bye."


	9. Warp Point

Author's Note:

Heeeerrreeeee's chapter 9! It's another long one.

**PikaMewGirl:** Well, you got your wish. Here's more. ;)

**StarWriterWG:** Haha! Unfortunately, the characters in my story cannot hear your words of warning from their universe. :( If only! And I must confess… I liked Celadon better in the games, at least in the Yellow Version. In Viridian, that old man yells at you, and then that lady in the market forces you to deliver a package for no payment. Child labor, I tell you! At least in the Red and Blue versions, the old man works as a glitch starter later, so he's not all bad. But in Yellow, he just sucks. Plus, you get to gamble in Celadon. I guess I got started with that early… hehe.

Anyway… on to the chapter! By the way, for all you "invisible" readers… yes, I know you're there! Just in case you weren't aware, "review" doesn't just mean view, and then view again. I want your feedback! If you love the story, tell me, and if you think I could be doing something better, let me know!

Kthx.

~TheFrogFromHell

**Chapter 9**

"But why do _I _have to train with her?"

Sabrina chucked. "Fin, you sound like a seven-year-old instead of a seventeen-year-old. Grow up. Helping me out with Cameron's training doesn't mean you have to be best friends with her."

"Look, you weren't there that night at the club! She's not normal… she's not even normal for a psychic! She's stuck up, rude, and a total pain in the ass, and I want nothing to do with her!"

Sabrina frowned at him. "Watch your language, Fin. Don't forget that you work for me, and that I require all my employees to be professional and to graciously accept the tasks I assign them. And that includes this one: helping me train this girl."

Fin sighed exasperatedly, massaging his temples with his fingers. _I thought I'd managed to avoid dealing with her, but then _this…

Cameron had moved in yesterday morning after her battle with the Karate King, which Fin had heard had been quite… explosive. Fin had made sure to keep his distance from her the whole day. Behind Saffron Gym, there was a complex where the psychics lived together, with the women's rooms on one side and the men's on the other. Fin had figured that he could avoid Cameron during the day by always managing to be engaged in a battle while Sabrina was training her, and remaining only on the men's side of the housing complex in the mornings and evenings. The exceptions would be breakfast and dinner, but Fin had planned to just sit as far away from her as possible at those times.

_This bites, _Fin thought, _but if I don't agree to it, Sabrina isn't going to be happy with me… _"Okay, fine," he said reluctantly, "what do I have to do?"

Sabrina appeared to consider Fin's question for a moment. "Well… first of all, you're around Cameron's age, and you're a psychic. I think you could set an example for her. Maybe, from seeing how happy and successful you have become without having to use your power to get what you want, she'll… see the light, if you know what I mean."

Fin unsuccessfully tried to contain himself and burst out laughing. "You can't be serious," he said incredulously, "you really think _she_ would want to be like _me_? Yeah, right. She's ten times as powerful as I am, for one thing. Plus, why would she want to change when, her entire life, she's gotten everything she wanted?"

Fin saw amusement in Sabrina's eyes behind her stern, authoritative expression. "I think there are a few advantages you have over Cameron," she said.

_Yeah, like not being a psychopath, _Fin thought to himself.

At the entrance of the gym, Sabrina and Fin linked arms as they stepped onto the first warp panel so they wouldn't get separated. Sabrina had designated her main battling area in the center of Saffron Gym to Cameron's first training session for the day. Fin knew this because he'd had to turn down quite a few trainers hoping to challenge Sabrina that morning. He'd known they hadn't been happy, but he also knew they'd be back the next day; they needed their Marshbadges, and battling Sabrina was the only way to get them.

After navigating the maze of various warp panels scattered throughout the gym, Fin and Sabrina found themselves in the middle of the large center arena. Fin studied his surroundings, puzzled. On one side of the arena was a huge pile of differently sized stone tablets, stacked on top of one another from largest to smallest. _Damn… those look really heavy,_ Fin thought. The larger ones definitely appeared too heavy to move telekinetically, and it would be a struggle for Fin to lift them physically. In line with the giant stack were two empty circles drawn on the floor, one in the center of the room, and the other on the opposite side.

Sabrina led Fin off the warp panel, and the two turned around to face it.

"She should be here any second," Sabrina said, and Fin nodded.

"Great," he replied sarcastically.

Sabrina shot him a look. "Watch it," she warned him, "remember, you're setting an example for Cameron today. I expect you to act maturely and professionally."

A few minutes passed by, and Sabrina folded her arms and began tapping her foot impatiently. "Late for her first day of training," Sabrina said distastefully.

"Well, what did you expect? It's not like she wants to be here; she'd rather just keep using her powers to win battles and beat out the Elite Four."

Suddenly, the blue and white warp panel flashed, and a small figure materialized in the center of it.

Cameron swayed side to side dizzily, appearing disoriented and unsteady on her feet.

"Jeez," she complained, "have you ever considered installing a method of transportation that _doesn't_ make people want to vomit?"

She stepped forward off the panel, holding her arms out for balance, and Fin almost smiled at her comment. He'd often thought the same thing— the warp panels had taken some getting used to. _But this is Cameron, after all, _Fin reminded himself, _she'd complain about winning the lottery._

"Training rule number one," Sabrina said evenly, "is being respectful to your trainer. No more bad attitude while you're here. Are we clear?"

Cameron scowled at her. "Crystal," she replied.

The sixteen-year-old then turned to Fin. "What are _you_ doing here?" She questioned. "Shouldn't you be out ruining someone's evening?"

"Wow, talking to me for five minutes was enough to ruin your whole evening? I'm flattered," Fin shot back.

"Children!" Sabrina exclaimed, eyeing Fin crossly, "that's enough."

Sabrina cleared her throat. "It is time to begin," she stated firmly. "Cameron, your task today is to move this stack of stone tablets from one side of the arena to the other."

Cameron smirked. "Okay. Simple," she said, dismissing Sabrina's instructions. Her attitude annoyed Fin; he wasn't quite sure what Sabrina had planned with the stone tablets, but he did know that it couldn't be as easy as it sounded— his own trainings with Sabrina had always been rigorous, in some way or another.

Sabrina held up her hand. "I'm not finished. Please do not interrupt."

Cameron rolled her eyes.

"Here is the catch: you may not move more than one tablet at a time, and you may not stack a larger tablet on top of a smaller one. You must line arrange the stacks in a line, with a maximum of three piles at a time, as designated by the circles on the floor."

Cameron appeared to think about this for a moment, which amused Fin. _For once in her life, she actually has to work for something,_ he thought with satisfaction.

"Okay," Cameron finally said, "still, no problem."

"_And,_" Sabrina continued, and Fin could tell she was becoming annoyed, "you may not use pokemon, or your psychic powers, to complete this task."

Apparently, Cameron hadn't been expecting that, and she exclaimed disbelievingly, "_What?_"

"You heard me," Sabrina confirmed. She kept her facial expression neutral and her voice very calm, but Fin knew her well enough to tell that underneath her exterior, she was gloating just a little bit. "And realize that if you attempt to violate any of these rules, there will be… consequences."

"But I thought you were supposed to teach me how to use my powers," Cameron argued. "What good is _this_ going to do?"

"I believe it will do you more good than you think," Sabrina answered. "As a psychic, you have three points of strength: your power, your intellect, and your physical body. Together, they form a triangle— the strongest base. But they must all be developed equally or you will be unbalanced. All three points of the triangle must be strong in order to reach your full potential."

Fin sensed that Cameron was thinking something like, _sounds like a load of BS to me._

"Whatever," Cameron said glumly, "let's get this over with."

_Interesting, _Fin thought. He hadn't expected her to agree to the task so easily.

"Well, the first step is to hand over your pokemon to me. I will keep them somewhere safe while you train."

Cameron opened her mouth to protest but quickly reconsidered. Fin looked over at Sabrina and noticed her severe, intense gaze, and guessed that it had intimidated Cameron into obeying. _Sabrina's great, but she _can_ be a little scary sometimes, _he noted. It was almost as if he could feel her immense psychic power emanating from behind her deep red eyes.

Begrudgingly, Cameron took off her belt with all her pokeballs attached and handed it to Sabrina. Fin noticed that one of the balls was an old, battered masterball. _How on earth did she get _that_? _he wondered, _and what pokemon is she keeping in it?_

"Thank you," Sabrina said, accepting the belt. "I will leave you to your task." She turned her back to Fin and Cameron and began walking back towards the warp panel.

"But… Sabrina, wait," Fin interjected.

Sabrina looked back over her shoulder and raised an eyebrow.

"What exactly am I supposed to do here?"

The gym leader smiled. "I believe you will find that the two of you will need to work together to complete this task." With that, she stepped onto the panel and vanished.

_Great, _Fin thought sarcastically, _teamwork._

Cameron sighed. "Okay," she said decidedly, facing Fin. "I know Sabrina told you to come here, but I don't need your help. I'm perfectly capable of doing this by myself. Got it?"

"Fine by me," Fin said casually. He'd be perfectly content to sit back and watch Cameron struggle with those impossibly heavy plates. _If she wants to make it harder for herself, I'm not going to argue with her. She deserves it anyway,_ he thought.

The stack of tablets was so high that Cameron had to use the bottom plates as stepping stones to reach the top tablet. From where Fin was standing, the first one appeared to be less than a foot in diameter and perhaps two or three inches thick. Cameron slid it off the top of the pile fairly easily, holding it to her chest with one arm as she descended from the pile.

"See," she said smugly, "piece of cake."

Fin chuckled under his breath. _We'll see._

She placed it in the center circle right away. _Is that the right one? _Fin questioned mentally.

"Of course it is!" Cameron yelled defensively, and Fin realized she had read his thoughts.

_Shoot… I've got to be careful what I think, _Fin realized.

"Damn right, you do," Cameron said, smirking at him. He glowered at her and made a note to himself to remember to erect his mental shields when he was around her.

The second plate appeared to be a little more difficult for Cameron to handle. She wavered a bit as she lifted it, and she nearly fell backwards as she stepped off the bottom of the pile. Fin examined the fourth and fifth plates in the pile. _They've got to weigh at least as much as she does,_ he thought. Cameron didn't look like she could be much more than ninety pounds.

This time, Cameron placed the plate inside the circle farthest from the stack.

It didn't take long for Fin to realize something he hadn't before— Cameron was very intelligent. She was restacking the plates faster than Fin could have done himself, very smoothly and analytically with no errors at all. However, once she got to the fifth plate, he determined that she was going to struggle in another area.

Cameron grunted as she pulled as hard as she could, attempting to lift the fifth plate. _She's not strong enough,_ Fin thought, _and there are still two plates underneath that one…_

"Hey, use the legs, not the back," Fin suggested. Although he was a little self-satisfied that he actually knew something that Cameron didn't, there was some genuine concern in his remark. _Why do I even care? _Fin thought, _it's not like she'd be worried about me._

"Thanks, but I _got it_!" Cameron replied spitefully. Fin smiled to himself as he noticed her crouch down and bend her knees, using her legs as Fin had suggested. She was finally just barely able to lift the plate, and, with great effort, she delivered it to its destination. She brushed off her hands on her skirt and stretched her back out a little before proclaiming triumphantly, "See, I _can_ do this myself. I'm stronger than you think!"

_Well, she's right about that,_ Fin admitted. Cameron _had_ been strong enough to pick up that fifth tablet, and he hadn't expected that. However, the sixth and seventh tablets appeared significantly heavier than the fifth, and Fin was sure she wouldn't be able to lift them without assistance.

"Nice job," Fin said dryly, "but it's obvious you'll need my help for those last couple of tablets. Let's just get this over with." He stood up and began walking toward what remained of the stack. "Together, okay?"

Cameron shook her head. "No way!" she objected. "This is _my_ training, and I'm going to finish it alone."

"Well, if you say so," Fin said, a little anxiously. _I hate to admit it, but I'm worried she's going to hurt herself._

"No, I'm not!" Cameron exclaimed, and Fin mentally kicked himself for forgetting to block her out of his thoughts again.

Suspiciously, Cameron turned her back to him before crouching down to pick up the tablet. _What's she…?_

Fin thought he saw the flash of a blue glow, and then, suddenly, Cameron shrieked and fell backwards.

"Are you okay?" Fin yelled. _I hope she didn't hurt her back… that could be bad,_ he thought.

He rushed over to Cameron and was puzzled by what he saw.

She didn't appear seriously injured; instead, she looked taken by surprise, and her hair stood up at odd angles like she'd been hit with a…

Fin realized what had happened, and he erupted into uncontrollable laughter.

Cameron looked all the more perplexed.

"You… you tried to use your psychic power, didn't you?" Fin managed to get out between laughs.

Cameron stood up and put her hands on her hips, glaring at him. "No I didn't!" she objected.

"I think you did," Fin said, "and you were hit by Sabrina's punishment— an electric shock!" He laughed again. "She must have rigged this place to zap you when you try to use your power."

"Ugh… Fine, maybe I did," Cameron admitted sulkily, "but it's just so automatic! I was just acting on instinct."

"If you say so," Fin said, smirking.

Cameron eyed the sixth tablet and sighed. "Well, is your offer still good?"

"You mean, my offer to help you? Sure, but only if you say "please"." Fin was feeling more than a little smug.

Cameron made a frustrated noise and rolled her eyes. "Okay. _Please,_" she said, so unpleasantly it felt more to Fin like she had insulted him.

"Alright, on the count of three," Fin said, bending down to grasp the bottom of the plate. Cameron joined him, crouching down on the opposite side.

"One."

"Two."

"Three!"

Fin grunted, pulling and pushing up with his legs as he struggled to lift the plate. Cameron wasn't as strong as Fin was, so he knew he was supporting more of its weight. _This thing's got to weigh at least two hundred pounds, _he estimated.

Fin and Cameron, in sync with each other, took tiny sideways steps until they reached the center circle, which was empty, and set the plate down.

Fin stretched his arms behind his back. It had taken a lot of physical exertion to lift that plate, and now he was struggling to catch his breath.

"Okay," Cameron said, and Fin noticed she was already figuring out what to do next. "Now, the small plate goes to the middle stack…" she easily lifted the smallest plate off the top of the stack on the right, setting it in the center on top of the sixth plate that they had just moved.

_Wait… how is that going to work? _Fin wondered. He wasn't as good at this as Cameron, though he didn't like to admit it, and he had to think for a moment to understand her methods.

Then, Cameron lifted the second plate from the stack on the right side of the room and transported it over to the left stack, which now had only the largest plate on the bottom.

After a few more trips, Cameron had arranged most of the plates in a stack in the center of the room. Now, it was time to lift the seventh, and largest, plate, which had remained on the left. _This isn't going to be easy, even with both of us working together, _Fin thought, bracing himself.

"Okay," Cameron said determinedly, turning to Fin, "you ready?"

"I guess so," he replied unenthusiastically.

"One," Cameron began.

"Two," Fin said nervously.

"_Three!_"

This time, it took all of Fin's strength to get the tablet off the floor. For a moment, he thought they weren't going to be able to manage it, but then, he was able to straighten his legs, holding a firm grip on the tablet. He glanced over at Cameron and noticed that she had done the same. Slowly, but persistently, the two guided the huge tablet around the middle stack and plunked it down on the right side of the room.

"Ugh," Fin grunted, rubbing his forearms, which smarted from holding the thing. _I'm going to be sore tomorrow, _he thought.

"Me too," Cameron said, and, although Fin realized she had read his thoughts again, this time it didn't bother him. _It's like it comes so naturally to her that she can't help it,_ he considered. _That must be so weird; it took me years to learn to read thoughts at all, and even now I can only pick up on the most obvious ones._

Cameron looked tired, and Fin guessed that he probably did too. _Lifting such heavy objects without using our powers is wearing both of us out,_ he thought.

"Not quite done," Cameron said. Her expression told him she wasn't looking forward to finishing.

Fin nodded. "What next?"

"Well, now the small plate goes on the floor on the left," she said, "and the second smallest goes on top of the huge plate we just put down."

"Are you sure?" Fin inquired. He definitely didn't want to do more lifting than he had to to finish, and he wasn't following Cameron's logic.

Cameron gave him a look, and raised her eyebrow. "Yes, I'm sure," she answered, as if it was obvious.

That annoyed Fin. "Well, look, not everyone's a genius like you, okay? Since I'm helping you, I don't think it's too much to ask for you to explain it to me."

"Fine, then." Cameron said, tossing her dark ponytail back over her shoulder. "You just have to think about it a little. When you have a complete pile, the first plate is on the bottom, and then the second on top of it, and then the third. One, two, three, and so on."

Fin didn't find this approach particularly groundbreaking. "Okay, so what's your point?"

"Let me finish," Cameron said shortly. She almost reminded Fin of Sabrina for a moment. "The bottom plate, plate number one, is odd, and the second plate is even; the third is odd, and the fourth is even. They alternate."

Fin nodded to signify that he understood.

"So, when you're stacking them, in order for it to work out, you always have to stack an odd on top of an even, or an even on top of an odd. If you stack even on even or odd on odd, you'll get mixed up and have to backtrack, which means extra lifting. So, the top plate, plate number seven, has to go on the floor, because we can't put it on plate number one, since it's odd. Make sense?"

"Yeah," Fin said. _She makes it seem so easy, _he thought, _but it would have taken me ten times as long to figure that out! _"That's actually… really smart."

Cameron widened her eyes in surprise, but then she quickly narrowed them warily, as if she believed that Fin had a hidden motive behind his compliment.

"I take after my father," she commented.

"Hmm," Fin remarked, "Ash must be really intelligent, then." That was interesting to Fin; he'd never really gotten that impression from the interviews on TV he'd seen with Ash. The man had always just seemed like an average guy, other than being a really great trainer.

Cameron's expression darkened, and she snorted. "Yeah, he's a real Einstein," she spat sarcastically.

_Wow… she's really got issues with her father, _Fin thought, careful to keep his mind guarded from Cameron. _She got upset when I brought him up the other night at the club, too._

Cameron got back to work, and after a few minutes, she'd rearranged the plates into a neat stack on the right side of the room. Fin had needed to help her lift the second largest plate once again, but it hadn't felt as heavy after lifting the enormous bottom plate.

The two looked at each other when they had finished, and they felt a sense of accomplishment (or, at least, Fin knew he did, but he thought Cameron did too, as her facial expression didn't look quite as sour as it had earlier).

Fin had expected Sabrina to show up right away, but, when she didn't, things got a little awkward.

"So," Fin said brightly, trying to break the silence in the room, "uh… good job today."

"Thanks," Cameron replied impassively, "you too, I guess."

Once again, the uncomfortable silence enveloped the room.

Then, Cameron said something Fin wouldn't have expected her to. "Look," she muttered softly, gazing down at the floor, "I'm sorry you had to work with me today. I know you hate me."

"What makes you think I hate you?" Fin asked her, taken aback by her sudden openness.

"I've felt it in your mind," Cameron explained. "I knew what you were thinking that night at the club after you walked away from me, and I've been able to hear your thoughts ever since I got here. I knew you didn't want to train with me today, and I know what you said about me to Sabrina."

Fin swallowed. For the first time, he felt a little guilty about the things he'd said and thought about Cameron. _But I only thought those things because of how she acted when I met her,_ he reminded himself, _that's her fault, not mine!_

"I don't _hate _you," Fin said honestly, "but the way you acted that night I met you… well, it pissed me off, and even more than that it scared me. I mean, being psychics, we kind of have a responsibility not to abuse our powers, y'know? Because, if one of us does, then people think we're all evil. Which we're not; we're just… different. And some people don't like that. But, the truth is, even though we may have special abilities and they don't, we're all… human." Fin knew he was babbling, and he decided to stop. _I'm probably not helping anything by talking too much, _he thought.

Cameron surprised him again. Rather than becoming defensive, she just smiled at him sadly and said, "If only it was that simple."

Fin frowned. _What could she mean by that?_

Suddenly, the warp panel in the room activated, and Sabrina materialized.

She looked like she'd seen a ghost.


	10. Pokedex

Author's Note:

Wow… as I am writing this, I have 1 more chapter to write before this story is FINISHED (I write chapters a couple weeks in advance before I post them). There will be 21 total chapters, I am currently in the middle of chapter 20, and the word count at this point is around 63,000 (3x the length of "Human"). I've written so far ahead now that it's hard to remember what happened back in chapter 10…

Oh, yeah… Ehem… Many new characters are introduced in this chapter. I hope you enjoy reading about them. I think they make the story both more complex and more interesting.

**PikaMewGirl: **Why? Because I can. Oh… and I want people to come back and read the next chapter. ;)

**StarWriterWG: **Thanks again for your lengthy reviews. Totally agree that Gen 2 was the last good Pokemon world. Idk... the Gameboy Advance graphics never did it for me, and the show sucked after they got rid of Misty. And I'll have to give Naruto a try… I have heard many good things about it from several people.

**Brisenberg: **Well then, if I did well in those areas, I achieved all I'd intended to with the last chapter. :) Thanks for the kind review. Hopefully you enjoy this chapter as well… it's different.

**shugokage: **Technically you responded to chapter 4, but I wanted to thank you for reading and reviewing all of my stories. I'm so glad you like them so much! I hope you enjoy this chapter and the chapters to follow.

As always… enjoy reading, and feedback is welcome! REVIEW!

~TheFrogFromHell

**Chapter 10**

_I'm bored, _Mew thought to itself from within its pokeball. Sabrina had taken Mew and the others from Cameron and set them here together on a desk in some office Mew didn't recognize. Pokemon couldn't actually see their surroundings from inside pokeballs, but, with Mew's psychic powers, it could paint a vague picture using images in the minds of humans outside. Also, all pokemon were able to hear what went on outside the balls, so that usually gave them a pretty good idea of what was happening.

_Except for now, when everything's quiet, and there are no minds to listen to, _Mew thought glumly. It figured that Sabrina must have brought them to an empty room.

"I think I'll do a little exploring," Mew said in Pokemon speech. "Anyone care to join me?"

"Sure!" exclaimed Haunter, "I'm bored to tears inside this ball!"

"You guys, you should stay here for when that gym leader comes back," said Vaporeon, always the voice of reason. "We don't want to be separated from our trainer."

Actually, Mew was still more than a little upset with their trainer at the moment and _did _want to be separated from her, but it didn't say anything.

"Whatever, 'Porey," Haunter teased, "you're just scared we're gonna come across some really tough pokemon you can't handle."

"You know that's not it at all," replied Vaporeon, sounding irritated. Mew knew it hated the nickname "Porey", which Haunter had figured out, and had used the name as frequently as possible since. Haunter always made fun of pokemon that it thought were weaker than itself, which Mew didn't think was very nice. However, since Mew was so much stronger than Haunter, Haunter seemed to look up to Mew, always trying to impress it and gain its approval. Mew figured that was better than being on its bad side, though it felt bad for the other pokemon in Cameron's party.

"I think we're just going to stay here," remarked Vulpix softly, speaking for itself and Zubat. Vulpix was the newest addition to the party; Cameron had acquired it from winning the slot machines (or, Mew suspected, _manipulating_ the slot machines) in the Celadon game corner, and then exchanging the coins for Vulpix. Mew sensed that Vulpix had the potential to be a great battler, but, unfortunately, Cameron hadn't put any effort into training it since she'd obtained it, so it remained at a low level and was a bit fearful of the outside world.

Thankfully, Zubat, who Cameron had caught when she'd passed through Mount Moon, had taken Vulpix under its wing, literally and figuratively, and the two had become good friends, which Mew was glad about.

_But Cameron has no idea,_ Mew thought bitterly. _She doesn't even care if her pokemon are friends. All she cares about is if they'll be good fighters that will obey her. _Mew shook its head in disgust, and then it exited its pokeball.

Once outside, it saw that Haunter had already freed itself as well. Mew examined its surroundings. They were in a medium sized office, and they had indeed been on a table in their pokeballs. However, this office was unique, and Mew felt surprisingly calm and contented here.

The room smelled of fragrant herbs and spices. On the desk next to Cameron's pokeballs were photographs of psychic pokemon, which Mew guessed were Sabrina's, and white and purple candles were distributed throughout the room. _Purple for psychic energy, and white for protection,_ Mew somehow knew. _I bet Sabrina meditates in here to strengthen her telepathic bonds with her pokemon before her battles._ Now that Mew thought of it, it felt like it could sense traces of her psychic signature still in the office.

"Ready?" Haunter questioned eagerly, pulling Mew out of its thoughts.

"Just a second," Mew replied, sighing. To be fair, it had to extend the invitation to _everyone_ in the party…

"Hey Jigglypuff, are you coming?"

There was a pause, as there always was before Jigglypuff said anything, and then, the pokemon replied, "Jiggly!"

Haunter gave Mew a look. "Why are you inviting _it_?" It whispered.

"We should be nice to it," Mew responded defensively.

But Mew had to admit, Jigglypuff was very strange. For one thing, even in pokemon speech, it seemed to only be able to say its own name. Mew wondered if it was brain damaged; there was always a blank, vacant expression in its huge eyes reminiscent of a psyduck or slowpoke. Cameron hardly ever battled with it because, despite being at a low level, it only seemed to obey about half the time. The rest of the time, it simply stood there staring at its foe until Jigglypuff was knocked out. Jigglypuff had been very young when Cameron had caught it, and Mew had hoped it would improve with age, but, so far, Mew's hopes hadn't manifested.

Because of these issues, none of Cameron's other pokemon were very close with Jigglypuff. Mew felt kind of bad for Jigglypuff, but at the same time, Mew understood the others' point of view.

"Is that a yes, or a no?" Mew asked, not understanding the pokemon's response.

"Puff!" The pokemon exclaimed brightly.

"Let's go," Haunter growled under its breath.

"Well… okay," Mew agreed reluctantly. _I guess trying to understand Jigglypuff is no use, _it thought. Suddenly, Mew and Haunter jumped at the sound of a doorknob turning.

"Someone's coming!" Haunter exclaimed, "Hide!" The ghost pokemon simply turned itself invisible, and Mew darted upwards, hovering near the ceiling and hoping that whoever was entering the room wouldn't look there.

"I just wasn't expecting this at all," Sabrina said as she stepped into the room with a blonde boy— _Fin_, Mew remembered hearing from inside its pokeball earlier— behind her. "It took me completely by surprise… I mean, I haven't heard from this man in years."

"And, again, what's so bad about… what's his name?" Fin inquired, sounding confused.

Mew was alarmed when it sensed a great deal of fear and despair in Sabrina. Even when Cameron had conjured that powerful Psychic attack at the battle, which had frightened plenty of audience members, Sabrina hadn't been phased. _Something substantial enough to upset Sabrina like this has got to be a pretty big deal,_ Mew thought to itself curiously.

"Giovanni Sorrentino," Sabrina reminded Fin. _Giovanni… why does that name sound so familiar? _Mew wondered.

"Anyway, the truth is, I don't know exactly what's so bad about him. All I know is that he used to be incredibly wealthy and influential until several years ago, when he was supposedly involved in some illegal experiment. He was "proven" innocent," Sabrina made quotes with her fingers as she said this, "but I don't believe he actually was."

_Experiment… Wasn't I created in an experiment? _Mew thought it remembered Cameron saying that.

Fin didn't look convinced. "Well, if a judge said he was innocent, there must have been _some_ kind of valid evidence that he was. Why didn't you believe it?"

Sabrina sighed. "Well, the thing is, I almost did… until I met him."

The sensation of apprehension and foreboding Mew had sensed in Sabrina grew stronger as she continued with her explanation.

"I mean, he was very friendly and respectful… outwardly, at least. But the strange part was, he was able to block his thoughts from me, almost completely. I couldn't even sense his real emotions; his mind was like a blank slate."

"Is he psychic?" Fin questioned.

"That's what was so strange— no, he isn't! It was just as if he'd had a lot of practice with shielding his mind from others, which is very suspicious." She looked at Fin seriously. "Someone who's devoted that much time and effort to learning to conceal his thoughts is _definitely_ hiding something."

"Or maybe he just wants his privacy," Fin reasoned, "I mean, that's kind of understandable too."

"Maybe," Sabrina said tentatively, "but… with my power… I was able to dig in to his mind just a little bit. And that little bit was enough to show me something I did _not_ want to see."

"What did you see?" Fin asked inquiringly.

"Well… nothing definitive… just a sensation," Sabrina admitted, "but I did get a strong sense of… I don't know exactly what, but it wasn't pretty. Somehow, being able to read even a tiny portion of this man's psyche told me that he is full of hatred, unstable, and extremely dangerous. After sensing what I sensed inside his mind, I had no doubt that he was guilty of the crime he was accused of, and, most likely, a whole lot of other offenses nobody knows about as well."

Fin nodded, but Mew could sense that he still felt conflicted about what Sabrina was telling him. But something was bothering Mew. _Where have I heard of Giovanni before?_ it wondered, becoming frustrated. _He must be part of a memory from when I was very young, _it figured. Mew could not recall its birth very easily; from what Cameron had told it, it gathered that it had been badly injured and delirious at the time, which explained the lapse in memory.

"The day I met Giovanni, I had simply planned on gathering information," Sabrina said, "actually, I had been on his side up to that point— since he was the Viridian City gym leader, I had wanted to help him improve his public image. However, after what I saw in his mind, I left that day with plans to revoke his gym leader license. A week later, the Council voted, and a small majority ruled that he should not be allowed to lead the gym any longer."

Fin shook his head sadly. "I can't help feeling a little bad for the guy."

"You wouldn't if you'd sensed in him what I sensed," Sabrina replied gravely.

"Well, it doesn't matter," Fin said, "I'm not on the Council anyway. But why did Giovanni call you today?"

"Giovanni didn't call me," Sabrina corrected. "Ash Ketchum, the new Viridian Gym leader, did. And he said that Giovanni wants to arrange a meeting with the Kanto Gym Leaders Council." Sabrina's face was pale. "He wants his old position back."

"Ash Ketchum… isn't that Cameron's dad?"

_Ash…_ Mew thought. It did remember Ash, from a long time ago! Mew had sensed his presence in Misty and Cameron's home before he had left abruptly. _But Ash isn't Cameron's father; Mewtwo is._

"Well… that's complicated," Sabrina said hesitantly, "I don't really want to get into that right now. Remind me to tell you more about that later."

"Umm… okay. But, what's the big deal about that meeting? I mean, can't you guys just vote him out again?"

"It's not that simple," replied Sabrina, her voice taking on a nervous tenor. "Years ago, Giovanni was only voted off the Council because of one member's vote. Overall, the Council was very conflicted about removing him with so little tangible evidence. This time, I think it may be even more difficult. From speaking with Ash, I now know that Giovanni has gathered a lot more support from Council members. Ash is a supporter, for one, and Lieutenant Surge will be. Also, for whatever reason, Misty Ketchum won't say anything against Giovanni either…" Sabrina said bitterly.

_Misty's not a very common name, _Mew realized, _she has to be talking about Cameron's mother!_

"Why not?" Fin inquired.

"I'm not exactly sure," Sabrina answered, "but some of those newspaper articles from years ago talked about a rumor that Misty was involved in the same experiment that Giovanni was a part of, and, although they were," she made quotes again with her fingers, ""proven false", I still don't trust Misty any more than I trust Giovanni himself."

Fin shook his head. "This all sounds really complicated," he said resignedly. "Honestly, it's a little much to wrap my head around. Please tell me I don't have to get involved."

"You don't," Sabrina assured him. "The only thing I need you to do is watch Cameron on Friday when I leave for the meeting. I should be gone for a few hours at least, and I need you to keep her out of trouble." She lowered her voice. "If you can, try to make sure she stays on the grounds… I don't want her wandering too far."

"Er… okay," Fin sounded curious, but he didn't ask anything further.

"Well, let's get what we came here for," Sabrina said practically, "I almost forgot. Grab Cameron's pokeballs, will you?"

"Sure." He picked up the belt with the balls attached from the desk, unaware that two of them were empty. Mew gulped as Sabrina and Fin exited the room, closing the door behind them. Mew looked over at Haunter, who had rematerialized close by.

"Uh-oh," it said, "what do we do now?"

"No big deal," Haunter remarked casually. "We go out, we have our fun, and then we come back before they realize we're gone. It looks like Sabrina's not going to have Cameron battle for a while anyway. She probably won't even notice."

Mew agreed, though it was not completely convinced, and the two pokemon exited through a window to investigate the outside world.

…

"We need to act soon," said the enormous venasaur to the large group of clones gathered around it. "The hybrid child walks free, and it cannot be allowed to live in the light while _we_ are destined for a life in the shadows!" It stomped its foot on the ground, creating a thunderous noise. "I will not stand for this!"

Ninetails growled and bared its teeth. "We can't act now," it argued, "the hybrid child is being protected by the psychic woman and her companion. Attacking them would draw attention to our presence here!"

"Ninetails is correct," said Blastoise, who was recognized by all as the leader of the group. "As abominable as it is that the hybrid creature is living as if it was human, we must wait until it is safe for us to act."

"Understood," said Rapidash, joining the conversation, "but what shall we do in the meantime? We grow restless here in the city. This is not where we belong. And we can only continue to remain hidden for so long."

"I hear and emphasize with your concerns," said Blastoise, "but my fear is that if we attempt an attack on the hybrid creature now, both its human protector and Mewtwo will combine their powers to counteract us."

"Child's play!" Venasaur spat, "Even their power combined is no match for ours!"

Blastoise approached the pokemon, leaning in close and glaring at it fiercely.

"You think so, do you?" It growled. "You think that you, a grass and poison type, will still be able to fight when your entire body is immobilized by the psychic gym leader's telekinesis, and you're being repeatedly struck by Mewtwo's Psychic and Confusion attacks?"

The pokemon appeared unsettled, and it did not respond.

"If any of you," Blastoise bellowed, "think that you can take on our psychic adversaries alone, you are incredibly foolish, and a danger to this group! In fact, if anyone here still holds this ridiculous belief, you can leave now."

Blastoise paused and gazed around at its companions. They all remained where they stood. The tortoise pokemon nodded. "Good. Now, the only chance we have of eliminating the hybrid creature is to get it alone. Against the power of the hybrid combined with her father's power, or the gym leader's power, we will lose."

"The hybrid's father is very protective of it," said Golduck, joining the discussion. "I have sensed Mewtwo's presence nearby frequently; it seems to be traveling back and forth from Cerulean City to assure itself of the hybrid's wellbeing."

"At what time of day have you sensed Mewtwo in the area, Golduck?" asked Blastoise. It would have been an asset to have a full psychic type pokemon in the group, but Golduck had some, if limited, ability to detect psychic signatures.

"I have been perceiving its signature in the mornings, usually," the water pokemon replied, "I believe it returns to Cerulean at night."

"To be with its… _human_," added Blastoise nastily. "Disgusting!"

"It is going against nature," agreed Rapidash.

"In order to avoid alerting Mewtwo or the psychic gym leader, we must make the hybrid creature come to us on its own terms, in the evening," said Blastoise.

"And how do we do that?" questioned Venasaur impatiently.

"I am not entirely sure… yet," answered Blastoise, "but I believe that the opportunity will arise, and that, most likely, it will be soon."


	11. Brock's Protection

Author's Note:

This is an exciting chapter (in my humble opinion)! It was certainly entertaining writing it… And, when you're done reading it, you're officially halfway through the story (yes, the final number of chapters has been increased to 22… I needed another one to tie up loose ends)! Yes... the story is finished now. Final word count: 69,400 words!

**PikaMewGirl: **Yes… But you have to check the "enable cookies" box or your computer will not allow me to give you one.

**StarWriterWG: **Hmm… well, I suppose no one told Cameron she was in danger because she'd probably do something stupid, like go looking for the clone pokemon by herself, if she knew. That's a lame excuse, but I guess I never really addressed that part ('^^).

By the way, if anyone is interested (which you're probably not) I made a playlist for "Human" with a song for each chapter. "Human" is NOT a song-fic… think of the music as "background", like in a movie. The playlist is on my profile if you want to take a look. I plan to do the same for "Monster" and "Hybrid", but those playlists are still in progress. Also, starting this coming Monday, I have decided to increase my updates to twice a week (Mondays and Fridays) and my posts will now be in the mornings (8 am US Pacific Time) instead of in the evenings.

Anyway… Read… Enjoy… REVIEW!

~TheFrogFromHell

**Chapter 11**

Misty clutched her steering wheel with white knuckles. _I have never dreaded anything in my entire life more than I am dreading this meeting, _she thought. She was going to be reunited with Ash, the man she'd threatened to file a restraining order against, and Giovanni, the criminal she'd kept out of jail, in the same day. _How on Earth am I going to handle this?_

Misty was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she nearly missed the exit for downtown Saffron. Glancing over her shoulder, she swerved into the rightmost lane, cutting off a man in a black pickup truck and causing him blare his horn at her. She held up her right hand apologetically as she drove onto the off ramp.

The man in the truck did the same, Misty noticed. She came to a stop at the red light at the end of the off ramp and studied what she could see of the man in her rearview mirror. He was wearing sunglasses, which made him harder to recognize, but there was something about his silhouette that looked so familiar…

_No way… it can't be… _Misty rolled down her driver's side window and leaned her head out, craning her neck so that the man could see her face.

"Brock?" she yelled. The man jumped in surprise, and then Misty saw a look of recognition cross his face. He fervently rolled his window down (his was manual, not electronic, so it took a little longer) and stuck his head out.

"Misty! I haven't seen you in years!" He looked ecstatic to see his old friend.

Suddenly, Misty heard a chorus of honks from the cars behind Brock's truck. _Shit,_ she thought.

"You're here for the meeting, right? Meet me outside Silph!" she yelled, and Brock nodded. Misty then quickly rolled up her window and took off, barely making the green light.

Fifteen minutes later, Misty had parked her car, and she was standing at the front of the massive Silph Co skyscraper. Although the building's size was impressive, its appearance was run down, as if it had been in peak condition ten or twenty years earlier.

Misty waved as Brock approached. When he was a few yards away, she couldn't help herself, running to him and wrapping her arms around him in a warm embrace.

"Brock," she said, "I missed you so much!"

"I missed you too, Misty," Brock said, and he sounded sincere. "How have you been?"

Misty had to think about that question for a moment. It seemed that lately, everything had been so overwhelming… As much as she loved Mewtwo, being with him over the years had definitely complicated things.

"I've been… okay," Misty answered generically.

"Just okay?" Brock answered, frowning. She knew that he was not convinced.

"Well, things have been kind of weird lately. Cameron's been getting into some trouble on her pokemon journey, and Mewt— _Michael— _has been away a lot trying to help her." _Wow, that was almost a really bad slip, _Misty thought. _I've gotta work on that…_

Maybe she was imagining it, but Misty thought she saw Brock's friendly expression waver at the mention of "Michael". When Misty had split with Ash, Brock had tried to remain neutral, which, Misty imagined, had been difficult, especially since neither Ash nor Misty had told Brock the whole story, so he had been left to draw his own conclusions.

For instance, Misty was fairly certain that Brock thought she had cheated on Ash.

Part of that was her fault; she hadn't been able to bring herself to tell Brock about what had happened between her and Mewtwo on New Island, and that had left her no way to explain the sudden appearance of "Michael" after Misty and Ash's split.

She suspected that Brock holding this false belief was part of the reason he and Misty had become so distant over the years, but she still didn't know how she could repair their relationship without telling him everything.

Brock nodded. "Sorry to hear you guys are having trouble," he said. "Myself… well, it's kind of been the same old, same old for me. Still running Pewter City gym, still watching my brothers and sisters… and their kids."

Hearing that saddened Misty a little. Brock had always been so crazy about girls when they were younger, but now, at the age of thirty-seven, he still hadn't found anyone.

"Well, I'm sure they're very grateful for your help," Misty said, since she couldn't think of a better response. "Kids can be a lot to handle… and I've only got one of them!" _Yeah, one that has unbelievably strong psychic powers, _Misty added in her mind, but, of course, didn't say aloud.

Brock nodded distractedly. "So, how's the Cerulean City Gym?" He asked, quickly changing the subject.

"Well, it's… same old same old, like you," Misty said. "Usually, the gym trainers and I do pretty well against challengers, unless they bring electric pokemon in. And even then, we still win a lot of the time." Misty grinned, and Brock smiled back.

"That's the Misty I know," he said, "always so competitive!"

"Oh, so you mean you _don't_ care about winning battles, Mr. Pewter Gym Leader?" she teased, and Brock laughed.

"Actually, I'm a little worried I win too much. I get a lot of young, beginning trainers coming in that I just crush. When I was less experienced, I seemed to have a lot more even matches, but now… I don't know. I don't want to discourage people, y'know?"

Misty nodded in understanding. The same thing happened at the Cerulean Gym, though probably not as frequently as at the Pewter Gym, since trainers did have to be tough enough to either make it through Mount Moon or Rock Tunnel before they even reached Misty. The exceptions were the new trainers beginning their journey in Cerulean; Misty usually defeated these trainers effortlessly. Sometimes, if they were really young and Misty could see they had promise, she felt a little guilty for beating them so easily, but she couldn't go easy on them without compromising her reputation as Cerulean gym leader.

Brock looked at his watch. "Well, it's almost nine. We should probably head inside."

Misty's heart rate increased. Seeing Brock had calmed her nerves temporarily, but now that the meeting was about to start, they came back full force.

Together, she and Brock pushed open the glass door and stepped through into the Silph Co. building.

Misty looked around at the bare, pale yellow walls and hideous yellow-brown tiled floor of the building's base floor. In the center of the room was a large, irregularly shaped indoor pond. Had it appeared clean, it would have been beautiful, but the water inside it was murky and unappealing. _This place is creepy, _Misty thought to herself._ It seems like there should be a receptionist at the desk or something, but it looks totally deserted!_

Misty and Brock exchanged puzzled looks, and then Brock started walking toward the elevator on the right side of the foyer.

"Wait!" Misty said, and Brock turned around to face her. "Can we… not take the elevator? Sorry, I would just prefer the stairs." Ever since the elevator incident at Pokemon Tech nine years ago, Misty had been paranoid about the devices.

"Sure," Brock said, looking at her a little strangely.

Sabrina had told Misty the meeting was on the top floor of the building, so it was a long trek up the many flights of stairs. Misty and Brock were huffing and puffing when they reached the 11th floor.

On the wall, there was a plaque that read, "BOARDROOM" with an arrow underneath it pointing down a long corridor. Misty's heart beat faster with each step she took down the hall, and she was clenching her fists so tightly that her fingernails dug into her palms, leaving marks.

When she and Brock finally reached the door, Brock turned to Misty and said, "Ready?" She looked at him and noticed he was smiling warmly at her. _Well, as bad as this is, I'm sure glad Brock's here with me, _she thought.

"As ready as I'll ever be," Misty replied. She knew that Brock had likely guessed it would be awkward for her to see Ash again, but he probably had no idea about her history with Giovanni.

Brock turned the handle and the two stepped into the room.

It became clear to Misty that she and Brock were the last to arrive; the rest of the Kanto Gym Leaders and, to Misty's surprise, the members of the Elite Four— Lorelei, the senior member and head of the Elite; Bruno; Lance, the dragon trainer; and Gary, who, Misty figured, had filled Ash's position when he'd left— as well, all sat around a large table. Sabrina was at the head of the table with a small stack of papers in front of her. To her left was Ash, and, right next to him, Giovanni. _He's in a wheelchair, _Misty noticed, surprised until she remembered reading in the newspapers years ago that he'd been injured as a result of the Cinnabar Island experiment. Misty tried to keep calm as the man's dark eyes flashed and he greeted her with a subtle, sly grin. Ash smiled and nodded to Brock, but he completely ignored Misty, refusing to acknowledge her at all.

Some of the trainers in the room appeared oblivious regarding the purpose of the meeting; they conversed casually with one another and greeted Misty and Brock politely as they entered the room. However, some of the trainers— namely Gary, Lance, and Erika— appeared troubled, sitting in silence. An atmosphere of confusion and trepidation encompassed the room, and Misty could tell that even the trainers who were socializing sensed it; they kept their voices low and surveyed the room cautiously.

Misty took her seat at the end of the table, next to Brock and across from Koga, who addressed her with a slight nod. He had aged quite a bit since Misty had last seen him; his black hair had faded to mostly gray, and deep lines creased his face. Misty imagined the Fuschia gym leader was now approaching seventy years old.

Misty was thankful that she was seated as far away as possible from Ash and Giovanni; perhaps she could just keep quiet, only speaking when she absolutely had to, and staying out of the conflict.

Sabrina cleared her throat, and all of the members of the group turned their heads to look at her. Misty noticed that she looked a bit pale and nervous herself; all the quiet confidence characteristic of the Saffron gym leader seemed to have evaporated. Sabrina picked up her small stack of papers and announced evenly, "Welcome to this official meeting of the Kanto Gym Leaders Council and the Elite Four. I want to personally thank all of you for taking the time to meet today."

The room was eerily silent, and the way Sabrina kept staring at her papers without making eye contact with anyone made Misty even more anxious than she already had been. _I wonder what's going on, _Misty thought. _Maybe something really bad has happened…_ Sabrina had only told Misty on the phone that there would be a meeting with Giovanni; she hadn't disclosed any specific details.

"We are here today," Sabrina continued, "to discuss some very important matters that have come up in the past few weeks. I'm sure all of you have noticed that Giovanni is here today, and I'll let him have the floor for a while to explain the situation."

"Thank you, Sabrina," Giovanni said smoothly, "but I am not nearly as gifted with words as my friend, Mr. Ketchum." He turned to face Ash, who looked a little embarrassed, but not surprised.

Misty's blood boiled as she came to a crushing realization. _They planned this, _she thought, _they're working together!_

"Ash, why don't you begin the conversation?" Giovanni questioned, and Misty almost threw up at his syrupy tone of voice.

"Umm… okay," Ash began, and the gym leaders and Elite Four members appeared to be listening attentively. "Well, Giovanni and I had a talk the other day, and, uh, we think that the League's been having some… problems, y'know?"

Misty rolled her eyes and looked away, still fuming. _This is who Giovanni calls "gifted with words"? Yeah, right. It's all part of whatever scheme he's hatching at the moment._

As unhappy as Misty was with Giovanni and Ash's arrangement, whatever it was, she did know one thing— Ash couldn't have any idea how evil the former Viridian Gym leader was; he was simply being used as a pawn in Giovanni's game.

"For instance, everything's gotten all messed up with the challenging trainers," Ash said. When a couple of people chuckled at his choice of words, Ash interjected, "no, it's the truth— I know you guys have noticed it, too! All of us gym leaders are really strong, and hardly anybody's winning against us. I've looked up all of your win and loss records for this year, and they're really, really good! It means we're tough to beat, which is a good thing."

Ash stopped there, and Misty thought about what he had said. _Actually, that's true, now_ _that I think about it,_ Misty admitted reluctantly, _Cerulean's record is way better than it was when I first started there, and Brock just told me outside that the same is true for Pewter._

Ash's demeanor became more serious as he continued speaking. "But, unfortunately, Indigo Plateau's record doesn't match it."

Misty thought she heard Gary scoff at that remark, and, when she looked over at him, she noticed the sour expression on his face.

"So, since all the gym leaders are really strong, we have super strong challengers moving on to the Elite Four. And then, for whatever reason…" Misty caught him glance disapprovingly at Gary, just for a fleeting moment, "they're not being challenged at Indigo Plateau. It's too easy for them to win."

A harsh, disdainful voice from across the table interrupted Ash's monologue. "I don't agree with you at all," argued Gary. "I think Indigo Plateau is as strong as ever, and that this whole meeting is just so that certain people can try to get their old jobs back."

Misty saw Lance, who sat next to Gary, shoot him a stern look and whisper something to him.

"No, Gary, Ash has a point," interjected Lorelei, turning to Ash. "You're absolutely right. The numbers have been slipping lately. There is an imbalance in the way things are running, and I'd like to fix it too."

"Do you have any suggestions about how to improve things, Lorelei?" inquired Sabrina.

The Elite Four leader frowned and shook her head. "Unfortunately I do not," she answered. "I have already tried a few things myself— implementing new policies designed to enforce a consistent and rigorous training regime and altering the order in which the challengers fight the Elite Four trainers are two examples— but it seems we will have to take more drastic steps to bring about any change."

Sabrina nodded.

"So," Ash said again, continuing his speech, "keeping all of that in mind, Giovanni…" he eyed the man on his right, "had a couple of suggestions."

"Thank you, Ash," the man said. Misty watched him warily. "In light of all that was just said, Ash and I have a proposal for all of you."

The room was utterly silent as the trainers waited to hear what Giovanni would say next.

"Ash Ketchum's skills as a Pokemon trainer far exceed my own," Giovanni said, and, once again, Ash appeared self-conscious. "Despite any difficulties he may have had in the past, he belongs at Indigo Plateau. Myself, I led the Viridian City gym for almost twenty years with no problems, and now, in my weakened state, for the few years I have left before I retire, I would like nothing more than to return to the position that made me who I am today."

Misty rolled her eyes. Giovanni was so full of crap. _Leading the gym didn't make him who he is, _she thought, _but_ _exploiting and torturing people and pokemon did!_

"And why should the Council— and the Elite Four— comply with your wishes?" Sabrina inquired skeptically. "Surely you realize that restoring your position as gym leader will complicate things for everyone here. We can only have eight trainers on the Council and four at Indigo Plateau. Reinstating your position means that someone else here has to step down."

"You may have loved leading the Viridian gym," added Erika in her soft, pleasant voice, and Misty turned to look at her pretty face, "but we all enjoy leading our own respective gyms as well. I do not find it likely that one of us here would be willing to relinquish our position so easily."

"Especially given the circumstances," came Lance's powerful tenor. He gazed at Giovanni distrustfully. "It would be one thing if you had chosen to step down, but you didn't. Sabrina, and the council, revoked your gym leader license years ago. I happen to trust Sabrina, and I think she must have had good reasons to take such drastic measures, even if I don't completely understand them." Lance then turned to Ash. "I'm sorry, buddy," he said, "I loved working with you, and I'd be honored to do it again, but this just isn't the right way for you to go about this."

Ash nodded, but he didn't appear very happy.

"I'm sorry you feel that way," Giovanni said to Lance, and Misty could tell he was trying hard to keep the irritation out of his voice. "Honestly, the unfortunate situation a few years ago confounds me. I was involved in dangerous circumstances against my will and rendered paralyzed from the waist down. Then, I was accused of a crime and proven innocent, yet my license was still taken away. Although, over the years, I have let go of my anger over that, I can't help but feeling that some…" he looked at Sabrina darkly, and then down at his wheelchair, "_discrimination_ may have been part of the decision."

Misty scoffed and shook her head. She didn't know Sabrina very well, but there was no way she would have denied Giovanni his job just because he was disabled. There had to be more to it than that, but, although this was obvious to Misty, she saw concerned looks come over some of the other trainers' faces.

"Is that true, Sabrina?" inquired Blaine, who sat across from Erika. Blaine had always weirded Misty out a little; his wild white mustache was unkempt, and he liked to wear his favorite pair of round, dark sunglasses at all times, even indoors.

"Of course not," Sabrina responded, defending herself. "I would never make a decision based on something so irrelevant."

"But you have to admit, the timing was a little suspicious," added Lieutenant Surge in his gruff voice.

Before she could stop herself, Misty yelled, "You guys, don't be so dense! Can't you see? There's more to the story!"

Everyone was silent for a moment. Sabrina appeared to be very interested in what Misty had said; she gazed at her intently with her deep red eyes. Ash looked totally confused; Misty guessed it was because he'd had no idea Misty had ever encountered Giovanni before. Then, Misty saw the wolfish expression on Giovanni's face, and thought, _oh, no… what have I done?_

"Hmmm... more to the story?" Giovanni said to Misty playfully, like a predator toying with its prey. "I don't think so. I don't have anything to hide. Do you, Mrs. Ketchum?"

His gaze seemed to penetrate Misty. _If I say anything against him, _she realized, _he'll reveal everything about Mewtwo and me to the entire council._

"No," Misty answered meekly.

"Enough of this," Brock said firmly, surprising Misty. _That's the first thing he's said this whole time, _she realized. "This is getting way too complicated. Let's just take a vote."

Sabrina nodded. "I agree. Those in favor of Ash returning to Indigo Plateau and Giovanni taking over his gym leader position raise their hands now."

Misty looked around the room as Ash, Lt. Surge, Bruno, Koga, and Lorelei extended their arms high in the air. Eyeing Giovanni, who was looking at her expectantly, and feeling sick inside, Misty reluctantly raised her right hand.


	12. Giovanni's Last Resort

****Author's Note:

Past the halfway point with this chapter! I want to thank all who favorited my stories this past week; that makes me feel warm and fuzzy.

**StarWriterWG: **Uh-oh. If you thought Giovanni was serpentine in the last chapter, I hesitate for you to read this one...

The plot thickens...

~TheFrogFromHell

**Chapter 12**

Giovanni couldn't stop his grin from spreading ear to ear when he saw the hands of his supporters. He felt particularly pleased when he saw Misty, who was looking at him murderously, raise her hand. _That's it,_ he thought, _I have the majority. _And Misty Ketchum had provided him with the final vote he'd needed to win. _This couldn't have gone any better!_

Gary stood up from his seat in objection. "Just wait a second," he protested, addressing Giovanni. "If you're coming back and Ash is going to work at Indigo Plateau, exactly who do you think is gonna be willing to give up his or her position?"

"I will," came a voice from across the table. Some of the trainers gasped in shock when they realized it was Bruno's.

"What?" questioned Lorelei incredulously, "but you've been with us for years!"

"Yeah, but I know my record's never been that great, at least not compared to some. We need strong trainers in the Elite Four. I'm not saying I'm stepping down forever, but maybe a few months of training alone at Mount Silver would be good for me."

Giovanni was surprised by Bruno's offer. He hadn't expected anyone to willingly give up their position. _This is truly my lucky day, _Giovanni thought to himself smugly.

"Thank you for offering, Bruno, but that won't be necessary," said Sabrina decisively.

Giovanni saw a challenge in the Saffron gym leader's eyes, and his grin faded from his face.

"As head of the Kanto Gym Leaders Council, I deem it necessary to suspend this decision. This is a matter that should be settled by the National Gym Leaders Council."

There was an outcry in the room, mostly from the trainers who had voted to bring Giovanni back. Misty appeared to be relieved, which infuriated Giovanni.

His temper surged, and his face felt hot. _This is ludicrous, _he thought, _Sabrina _cannot _hold the authority to take such measures!_

"How dare you," the former Team Rocket leader bellowed, somewhere in the back of his mind realizing that he had lost control. He felt Ash's hand on his shoulder, undoubtedly in an attempt to calm Giovanni, but he ignored it. "Even after the majority rules that I should have— that I _deserve_— my gym leader post returned to me, you crush my hopes yet again. You, Sabrina, are indisputably biased, and you ought to be removed from your position immediately!"

"I did not say that your post would not be returned to you," Sabrina reasoned, "but I believe this matter would be best handled by the NGLC."

"That is ridiculous," Giovanni spat.

"I will not tolerate such disrespect," Sabrina replied heatedly. "This meeting is adjourned, and the decision postponed until further notice."

"Giovanni… we've done what we can. Let's go," said a voice softly. Giovanni turned to his left to see Ash, appearing concerned but firm.

Trying to manage his anger, Giovanni thought to himself, _this is not over, but I'd rather leave some of my bridges unburned._

"Fine," the former Team Rocket leader agreed bitterly, and, with one last spiteful look at Sabrina, he added, "let's leave."

The group of trainers dispersed, whispering amongst themselves, and Giovanni and Ash were no exception. They exited the room, Giovanni wheeling himself out first, and then Ash behind him.

Once they were alone in the elevator, Ash said to Giovanni, "Look, I understand why you got upset in there, and hey, I would be, too, but you've got to try to… keep your cool a little more. You're not gonna help our case by yelling."

Giovanni felt another surge of rage pass through him at the notion of Ash giving him advice, but he somehow managed to keep his voice calm as he responded. "You're right, Ash. My apologies. It's just… a very sensitive topic for me. I realize I was out of line."

Ash nodded and smiled sympathetically. "It's okay," he assured Giovanni, "as I said, I would have been upset, too!"

"Thank you, my friend," Giovanni said, clapping Ash on his back. He hoped that the younger trainer believed he was sincere.

The two parted ways then, Ash leaving the building and Giovanni remaining behind, explaining that he was going to use the base floor's restroom before departing.

After using the toilet, Giovanni washed his hands in the sink and then splashed cold water on his face.

Still fuming about the outcome of the meeting, he peered at his reflection in the bathroom's mirror.

He thought he appeared very old, much older than his fifty-six years. Grey and white strands peppered his thinning, brown-black hair, which he still attempted to comb back into a polished style. Deep frown lines and bags underneath his dark, coal-colored eyes gave him a weathered, haggard appearance.

Disgusted with his own reflection, Giovanni splashed water over the dirty mirror, distorting the reflected image. He looked down at his withered, useless legs, which just lay there, motionless, as if they weren't parts of his body at all.

_I am worthless,_ the man thought in revulsion. _Viridian Gym was my last hope, and I have failed to secure that position_. _How pathetic. _He gritted his teeth and slammed his fist into the wall, hard. As his knuckles split and began to bleed, Giovanni realized, _I am everything I despise: weak, dependent, and powerless._

Just when he felt ready to die, ready to give up on all his lifelong goals forever, something struck him.

It was an idea; just a tiny spark of an idea, but, like a beacon of light in thick fog, it gave him guidance and direction. Perhaps… it wasn't over for Giovanni after all.

Ever since the incident on Cinnabar Island nine years ago, Giovanni had been obsessed with finding Mewtwo yet again and capturing it, so that Giovanni could control it and, also, experiment on its DNA in preparation for possibly creating more clones (which, Giovanni planned, would be made differently than the original so that they would not be so adverse to obeying authority). Giovanni had thought all these years that he needed Mewtwo to build his army of super powerful pokemon; he could never become the strongest trainer in the world without Mewtwo. Mewtwo was the only one of its kind, and the only pokemon that could satisfy Giovanni's requirements.

But at this moment, Giovanni realized that he had been wrong. He _didn't_ need Mewtwo to achieve his ends.

_Why would I want to control the power, _he thought, _when I can _be_ the power?_

A triumphant grin crept onto Giovanni's face. _From here on out, _he thought, _I refuse to be the weak one. I will regain all that I have lost. Those who have wronged me today will pay!_

With his renewed resolve, Giovanni wheeled himself out of the bathroom to return to his office, where Bill's machine waited for him.

…

Mew was getting anxious; it was dark outside, and Cameron would soon be done with her training, so they needed to get back to Saffron Gym as soon as possible.

"Haunter," Mew said, becoming a little irritated with its friend, "we need to go back. Seriously."

Haunter stuck its tongue out at Mew. "Okay," it agreed, "but just one more, okay?"

Mew looked at it sternly. "Only if you promise that you actually mean "one more". And we need to make this quick."

"Okay, okay," Haunter said, "I promise."

For the last week, each day, while Cameron was training, Mew and Haunter had been going on their own adventures outside. At first, they had just explored the city, but they (mostly Haunter) had gotten bored with that. Mew had quickly discovered that Haunter's favorite activity was playing pranks on some of the trainers they saw. Although Mew felt a little guilty for messing with clueless people, it was a mischievous pokemon at heart, and it couldn't help but join in sometimes.

"Look! That guy, over there!" It seemed as if Haunter had identified their next victim. The ghost pokemon motioned to a tall, bald man in a suit on the sidewalk outside a coffee shop holding a briefcase in one hand and a giant paper cup of something that Mew assumed to be coffee in the other hand.

Haunter turned itself invisible, and Mew used Transform to shape shift into a pidgey, a common pokemon that no one would think twice about seeing in Saffron City. Then, the two approached the man.

Oddly, the man seemed to be having a conversation with someone, but Mew couldn't figure out whom. He wasn't holding a phone up to his ear, and he didn't seem to be addressing anyone around him. _He must be talking to that strange device on his ear,_ Mew figured, noticing the small, electronic apparatus the man was wearing. _Humans are so bizarre._

"What should we do?" Mew asked Haunter quietly, noting the weirdness of hearing its own words come out in pidgey-pokemon speech.

"I don't know yet," Haunter whispered back, "let's listen for a minute."

"So, my wife was like, 'honey, can you please pick up some new diapers for the baby? We're out and I'm waiting to change her!'" the man was saying into the device, "and I was like, 'yeah, sure, babe, but I gotta get my Morebucks latte first!"

He paused for a second as if listening for a reply and then burst out laughing.

"Yeah, dude! I know, she's super needy. But at least she's hot."

_What a careless person, _Mew thought distastefully.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" questioned Haunter.

"I think so," Mew replied.

"Yeah, well, I gotta get home. But you know that idea you pitched in the meeting today about Poke Cola for Kids? I totally think we could make major profit from that, man. We just gotta talk to the company about lowering the BPA content on the label, so all those hippie soccer moms don't have a cow."

"One, two, three…" Haunter counted.

"NOW!"

Suddenly, the invisible Haunter snatched the Morebucks latte out of the man's hand.

"What the—"

Haunter orbited around the man's head, darting out of the way as he tried to snatch the cup back.

"My coffee cup is just floating in thin air! No, seriously!" The man yelled into his device. A group of people across the street stopped to gawk at the strange scene occurring.

Mew decided to add another layer to the joke. Using its telekinesis, it levitated half a dozen cans of Poke Cola from inside the coffee shop, bringing them outside to circle around the man along with the cup that Haunter had stolen.

The man quivered in terror. "I knew BPA was bad," he cried, "but I never thought it could do _this!_"

Now, it was time for the grand finale. Mew shook the cans vigorously for a few seconds before gently pulling back the aluminum tabs at the tops. An onslaught of white-brown bubbles was projected at the man, and he screamed, threw his briefcase on the ground, and took off sprinting in the opposite direction. Mew and Haunter were both overcome by fits of giggles.

"Nice one!" Haunter complimented its friend.

"You weren't bad yourself," answered Mew. When the two pokemon had calmed down, Mew remembered they had to get home and said, "okay. That was our "one more". Time to get back."

Haunter sighed in reluctance but agreed.

Because it was late, and Mew wanted to get back to the gym as quickly as possible, it and Haunter decided to take a shortcut. It meant traveling on the outskirts of town, close to Route 8. It was very quiet there, with no people or other pokemon in sight, and Mew felt a little nervous when the last of the setting sun's rays disappeared from view.

"I don't like this," Mew said to Haunter.

"Scared?" Haunter teased, but Mew thought it heard a tiny bit of apprehension in Haunter's tone as well.

"No, just cautious. But we're close; we'll reach the gym soon." Mew said, trying to reassure itself as well as Haunter.

Suddenly, Mew heard a rustling in some trees behind them, and it knew it had to be more than just the breeze. Mew and Haunter whirled around.

"Show yourself!" called Haunter bravely.

_Whatever this turns out to be, it's going to be alright, _Mew thought, trying to calm itself down. _Haunter and I are very strong. Together, we can handle any pokemon that challenges us._

But Mew wasn't prepared for what came next.

One by one, three pokemon crept out of the brush: first, a proud and sturdy looking rapidash; second, a sly and agile golduck; and third, a spirited and determined pikachu. Right away, Mew knew there was something different about these pokemon. For one thing, they had subtle, but foreign differences in their appearances that Mew had never seen before. Rapidash was abnormally large, with strange markings on its hooves; Golduck's eyes were slanted differently; and the patterns on Pikachu's ears differed from normal. The variations in their appearances coupled with the strange vibe Mew sensed from the pokemon made it seem as if they were from far, far away, where pokemon did not appear or behave in the same manner as the pokemon Mew knew.

"What do you want?" Haunter demanded, and, although Mew admired its friend's boldness, it wasn't sure that making demands of these odd pokemon was the right way to go about things.

The pokemon did not answer. Instead, they remained still, watching Mew and Haunter as if analyzing them. Mew noticed that the pikachu whispered something to Golduck very quietly, and, although Mew wasn't sure, it thought the mouse pokemon had said, "are you sure it's them", which didn't make any sense. Golduck nodded ever so slightly.

"Hey!" Haunter exclaimed. It had obviously noticed the exchange as well. "How about not keeping secrets here?"

_Ugh,_ Mew thought, _this isn't the time for Haunter to show off how tough it is…_

"Haunter, I don't think we should— "

Abruptly, Mew was interrupted by an extremely forceful Hydro Pump attack directed at it and Haunter. Immediately, they moved away from each other as quickly as they could, and most of the destructive jet of water went right between them. Mew marveled at how powerful the attack was; whatever these pokemon were, they were unbelievably strong. _Even at my level, I don't think I'm equipped to fight all three of them, _Mew realized in horror.

Then, Mew saw an attack headed straight for Haunter, and it yelled instinctively, "Haunter, incoming! MOVE!"

The ghost narrowly missed the bulk of the attack, and it still got a little singed by Rapidash's impressive Fire Spin. Unfortunately, since Mew had been distracted protecting Haunter, it had failed to notice the Thunder attack coming right at it.

Suddenly, Mew's whole body was overcome by an intense electric shock. Mew's muscles ceased to contract, and it fell to the ground, seizing uncontrollably from the high voltage.

"Haunter, get back to the gym as fast as you can! Get help!" Mew barely had time to finish its sentence before it was struck by another unrelenting assault of electricity, and everything went black.

...

End note:

REVIEW or the clones will come after you, too! (My regular reviewers... you are safe ;) ).


	13. Good Manners

Author's Note:

Well, it looks like **Brisenberg, StarWriterWG, PikaMewGirl, **and **Guest **are safe from the clones. As for the other 200 or so anonymous readers… well, I'm sorry. Hope you survived.

I'm gonna make this a brief note. I have studying to do. Enjoy the chapter!

~TheFrogFromHell

**Chapter 13**

As Misty exited the Silph Co. building, she felt her phone vibrating in her pocket. She took it out and noticed that she had a new text message.

**I sensed your presence nearby. I will arrive to meet you in seven minutes.**

**Received at 10:53 am**

Misty didn't have to check the number to know who the message was from. She sighed, sitting on the sidewalk to think for a moment. _I feel terrible, _she thought. _After all Mewtwo has done for Cameron and me— and for the world— I am still so worried about people finding out he's a pokemon that I've let his worst enemy walk all over me twice now._

After the events of the KGLC meeting, Misty was finally being forced to be honest with herself. Several years ago, when Giovanni had called her before his trial, she had agreed not to testify against him for two reasons. The first had been to protect Mewtwo and Cameron— if Giovanni revealed Mewtwo's identity, and, by extension, Cameron's identity, it would have been possible that the scientists who had created Mewtwo would have wanted to destroy him, and maybe Cameron as well. Actually, the police, or, perhaps, Pokemon Control, might have mandated his destruction— after all, at the time of his creation, he had killed an entire team of scientists. That meant he was, potentially, very dangerous.

But there had been a larger reason as well, and this was the main reason Misty had let Giovanni have his way.

That reason was this: a tiny, but significant, part of Misty was ashamed that she was in love with, and had a child with, a pokemon.

She didn't like to admit that at all, because she understood Mewtwo like nobody else did. She knew he wasn't a regular pokemon; his essence was very humanoid, and their relationship was that of two equals— not of a pokemon and its master.

That said, Misty never wanted anyone to find out her lover's true identity, and she had fought hard to keep it a secret from everyone she knew for the entire course of their relationship. She didn't ever want to think about how people would treat her if they knew the truth. Would they accept Misty and Mewtwo's relationship as legitimate, or would they condemn Misty for deviating from society's defined rules? Misty thought she knew the answer, and, because of it, she'd never shared Mewtwo's secret with anyone.

Carrying this burden for so many years had taken a toll on Misty, but she figured it was the price she had to pay to stay with Mewtwo. She had sacrificed her relationship with Brock, allowing him to think she had been unfaithful to Ash, and she had become distant with her family, who had loved Ash and found "Michael" very odd, and they disapproved of Misty living with him out of wedlock.

That was yet another problem— Misty and Mewtwo had been together for nine years, but Misty could never marry him. He had no birth certificate, no identification, no documentation whatsoever. Legally, "Michael Silver" did not exist.

"Misty!"

Misty heard Brock's voice behind her, and she turned around to see that he had just stepped out of Silph Co. She smiled at him, but she knew she couldn't look very happy.

Brock must have noticed something was wrong, for he inquired, "What's the matter, Misty?"

"Oh…" _What can I say? _Misty wondered, _what could I possibly say that wouldn't be a lie? _"It's… nothing."

Brock frowned. "I can tell that's not true, Misty. I don't know what it is, but all day you haven't seemed like yourself, at least not like the Misty that I remember."

"People change, I guess," Misty commented. She was a little agitated, but she didn't know if it was at Brock, or at herself.

"Misty… I don't know if…" Brock trailed off, and Misty noticed he seemed to be gazing at something.

Misty looked to her left and saw Mewtwo, in human form, walking toward her. His sharp, refined facial features held a serious expression, and his black hair shone in the late morning light. His skin was so pale that Misty worried he would burn in the sun.

Looking back at Brock and studying his tanned, rough, imperfect skin and messy, spiky hair, she couldn't help but think that even in his alternate form, Mewtwo didn't appear completely human. Actually, when she thought about it, it didn't make sense that Mewtwo would look like a normal person. He'd spent years compiling the perfect DNA sequence using the genes of hundreds of people. He had eradicated all genetic weaknesses and imperfections, selecting only the finest features for himself. And if that wasn't enough, he'd left his unstoppable psychic powers and superior physical strength intact.

_No real human man could ever come close to what he is, _Misty thought. She'd known that before, but right now it was all too clear to her.

Misty stood up to greet Mewtwo, and he stopped in front of her.

"Misty," he said, the tone of his voice flat and unreadable. Mewtwo had never been very good at conveying emotion, even when Misty knew he felt something. They had worked on it together over the years, but here, in front of Brock, she wished they had tried harder. Misty knew with all her heart that Mewtwo loved her more than anything, but, at this moment, he came off as impassive and cold.

"M… Michael," she replied, remembering to use his alias. Mewtwo did not acknowledge Brock at all; instead, he just gazed at Misty intently. "Um, Michael… this is my friend, Brock. I don't think you two have met before."

Mewtwo's violet eyes turned to the Pewter gym leader, and Misty saw a flash of recognition in them. _New Island,_ she remembered, _Mewtwo and Brock met each other on New Island._

Brock was studying Mewtwo meticulously, furrowing his brow as if confused. "Hi," he said.

"Hello," Mewtwo replied.

"You know… this is really strange, but I think we have met before! Why do you look so familiar?" questioned Brock.

Misty shot Mewtwo a look. He needed to choose his words carefully.

"I suppose… I just have one of those faces." Misty could have sighed in relief. That was a line she had told Mewtwo to say if a situation ever arose where someone who had known Mewtwo in Pokemon form met him as a human.

"I guess," Brock said, but Misty could tell he still wasn't convinced they hadn't met before.

Mewtwo turned his attention back to Misty, and she saw unease in his violet eyes. Even after years of practice, he was still very uncomfortable with meeting Misty's friends, Misty knew.

She didn't really want to leave Brock just yet, since the two of them had just reconnected, but she could tell that he and Mewtwo together would make for an awkward dynamic, which Misty didn't want to experience. "Brock, Michael and I have to go," Misty said reluctantly.

"Alright," Brock said, nodding slightly. Misty thought she saw a tiny bit of animosity in her friend's expression, and she knew it was directed at "Michael". As much as she wished the two could get along, she knew they had nothing in common and that expecting them to hit it off was unrealistic. _Especially since Brock probably thinks that Mewtwo ruined my relationship with Ash, _Misty thought. "Well, it was nice to see you again, Misty. Stay in touch."

As Brock gave her a quick hug, Misty said softly, "I will."

As her old friend walked away, looking back over his shoulder at her twice before he was out of sight, Misty felt a deep sense of loss. Burying it, she looked back at Mewtwo and said, "Let's go to my car."

He nodded. "Yes," he said, "I need to speak with you alone."

That statement made Misty nervous, and her stomach turned as they made their way to the car. Once inside, Misty sitting in the driver's seat and Mewtwo in the passenger's, he said to her calmly, "Why did you neglect to inform me about the meeting today?"

Misty swallowed. Unthinkingly, she hadn't foreseen that Mewtwo would be in Saffron at the same time as the meeting. _If he was able to sense that _I_ was nearby, _she reasoned, _he was probably able to sense everyone else, too: Ash, Sabrina…_ _Giovanni._ That last thought made Misty very anxious. She had managed to keep her phone conversation with Giovanni a secret for years. She wasn't sure, but she thought that Mewtwo had not seen it in her thoughts because he had avoided reading her mind over the years; he had told her that he wanted their relationship to be honest, and that he would only tap into her thoughts if she wished him to.

But now, if Mewtwo _had_ been able to perceive Giovanni's presence at the meeting, he would know for certain that the man was not in jail… and he would wonder how that was possible.

"I just… didn't think it was important. It was just a part of my job," Misty replied, knowing her excuse was unconvincing.

Mewtwo looked at her sternly, but Misty also detected a small amount of hurt in his eyes.

"I do not need to read your thoughts to know that you are attempting to deceive me," he said, still keeping his voice even. "That greatly saddens me. However, what distresses me even more is your reason for the deceit."

Again, Misty felt her stomach twist and turn itself into a knot.

"I had promised not to enter your mind without permission," Mewtwo explained, "and, I assure you, I did not— reading the mind of my adversary and feeling your emotional reaction to his presence this morning told me enough."

"Well," Misty defended feebly, "if you had been in my position, you would have reacted to seeing him again, too…"

"Do not lie to me," Mewtwo interrupted, and, this time, Misty felt the anger he had been suppressing bubbling up to the surface. "I sensed your disturbance and fear, which I would have expected, but overshadowing both of those was your guilt. From that, I was able to draw the conclusion that you and my enemy have had contact in the past that I was unaware of. Do not attempt to tell me this is not the truth."

Misty looked away, and she felt tears threatening to escape from the corners of her eyes. "Yes," she admitted ashamedly, "that is true."

"If that is true," Mewtwo continued, his voice wavering, "then my fears have manifested." Misty turned back to him, and the intensity of his gaze was paralyzing. In his eyes, Mewtwo's despair and fury were so apparent that Misty felt as if she was experiencing them herself. Mewtwo rarely showed strong emotion, but, when he did, it was so powerful that it frightened Misty. "You have betrayed me."

Misty's heart pounded. "No!" she protested, "Mewtwo… I would never do that. I was trying to protect you. To protect us."

"So," Mewtwo said, looking at her darkly, "you cooperated with Giovanni, allowing him to walk free after what he has done to me, for my _protection_?" His voice was dripping with heated satire, and it made Misty wince.

"It's not like that!" Misty exclaimed, though, in actuality, it was exactly like that. _But he doesn't understand, _she thought, _there was no other option!_

As if he had read her mind, Mewtwo said, "Perhaps your reasons for the collaboration were noble." Misty nodded, hoping that he would see things from her perspective for a moment and calm down. "But if that was the case, then why would you not inform me of the situation? Why would you mislead me to believe that we had an honest relationship when you had been keeping information from me for years?"

Misty had no answer for him.

"I require no response," Mewtwo continued, "because I already know the answer. Perhaps you _did_ want to protect me, but you also wanted to keep our relationship a secret for other purposes." The immense sorrow in his tone was unmistakable as he added, "you are ashamed of me."

"No, Mewtwo, I—"

"So ashamed of what I am that you would cooperate with my enemy in order to prevent others from discovering it," he interrupted. Then, as a final blow, Mewtwo said bitterly, "Misty, I had believed with such certainty that you were different from other humans— that I could trust you. Now, I see that I was mistaken."

Ignoring Misty's protests, Mewtwo opened the door and got out of the car. Misty started to open her own door and follow him, but, in a split second, he was gone.


	14. Transparent Walls

****Author's Note:

I want to thank everyone for all the reviews I got this week! Yay! **Dilectus**, **PikaMewGirl**, **Sakura Tachi**, and **S****tarWriterWG**, you were beacons of light in my dark storm of chemistry and math homework that I suffered through this past week. I promise I will respond to reviews at some point... I'm just very short on time at the moment.

Enjoy Chapter 14.

~TheFrogFromHell

**Chapter 14**

"JUMP!"

Cameron heard Fin yell, and, in the nick of time, she leapt off the floor as Alakazam's powerful Psybeam passed under her feet.

"Kazam! Ala!" The pokemon objected. Cameron understood it to have said, "You're quick, but I won't miss next time!"

"We'll see about that," Cameron replied. Fin raised an eyebrow at her.

"That's so weird," he commented.

"What?"

"The way you… talk to pokemon. It's like you can really understand them, and you're having a conversation. But I know that's impossible."

"Anything's— " Cameron crouched down and leaned to the side to avoid another charged psychic attack, "—possible when you put your mind to it."

Fin laughed. "If you say so," he said. Then, he held up his hand to Alakazam. "Okay, that's enough," he said, signaling the pokemon to cease attacking.

Turning back to Cameron, he said, "Okay. I can see you're fine with the dodging. Now, let's see how well you can block."

"Block?" Cameron questioned, "like… as in, physical attacks?"

Cameron had been training at the Saffron gym for over a week now, and she had only been allowed to use her psychic powers for the last two sessions. A large part of the training seemed to focus on connecting her mental abilities with her physical body.

Fin smiled at her mischievously, and his green eyes sparkled. "Physical," he explained, "and psychic as well. You'll need to use your body and your mind at the same time for this challenge."

Cameron narrowed her eyes at him. "And did Sabrina tell you to give me this "challenge", or are you just making this stuff up?"

"I don't have to tell you anything," Fin replied, folding his arms and looking at her authoritatively. Cameron could tell he was enjoying his position of power while Sabrina was away. "But, since I'm nice, I'll let you know that she said I could let you try this "if you were ready". Which I think you are."

Cameron tried not to let it show, but the idea of having to block both physical and psychic blows simultaneously made her a little nervous. She'd never had to do anything like that before. _It's kind of like being in a pokemon battle… only I'm the pokemon and not the trainer._

Fin snapped his fingers, signaling Alakazam to come closer. He then reached for a pokeball on his belt, throwing it to reveal a monster that Cameron guessed was his own: a poliwrath, probably somewhere around level forty.

"Alright," Fin said resolutely, "Alakazam will provide the psychic challenge, and Poliwrath here will test you physically. The goal is to block its attacks in any way you can, but I suggest using telekinesis." He lowered his voice and added, "Trying to block a Mega Punch with your bare hands is not something I recommend."

He winked at Cameron, and she felt her face grow hot. After getting to know Fin, she felt kind of awkward around him; she never knew if he was making fun of her, or… or… _or what? _she wondered, and she concluded she didn't know the answer.

"Ready?" Fin asked her.

"I guess," Cameron answered a little uneasily.

"What, you're scared now?" Fin teased.

She glared at him. "No, I'm not! Bring it on!"

"That's the spirit." He looked at her strangely, and, suddenly, Cameron heard a noise behind her.

She whirled around just in the nick of time to arrest a Psybeam attack headed straight for her. Blocking psychic attacks was pretty easy for Cameron, but she wasn't sure yet about the physical aspect of this challenge…

Cameron realized that Fin must be communicating with his pokemon telepathically, instructing them on which attacks to perform. She tried to tap into Fin's mind to read his thoughts, but he blocked her out. _He's been getting better at that lately, _she thought, remembering how easy it had been when they'd first started training together.

_Indeed, I have, _Fin projected to her, surprising her. She looked at him, noticed the satisfied smirk on his face, and, again, her cheeks felt flushed.

Distracted by Fin, Cameron came back to her senses just in time, ducking and narrowly missing Poliwrath's huge fist.

"You're supposed to block, not dodge!" Fin reminded, which annoyed Cameron.

"I _know_," she replied testily.

This time, she was ready. As Poliwrath lunged at her, poised for a Double Slap, she closed her eyes and focused on forming a barrier of psychic energy. Unsure if she could create one strong enough to block the forceful attack, she braced herself for the impact… but it never came.

SMACK! Cameron opened her eyes to find that she was completely surrounded by a translucent, brilliant blue wall. Outside of it, she could see Poliwrath tending to its sore hands— it had Double Slapped Cameron's psychic barrier, which, evidently, was hard as a rock.

"Whoa," she heard Fin, who stood behind her, exclaim in awe.

Cameron realized she had seen such a wall somewhere before. She tried to think. _A wall… a barrier… that's it! Barrier! Like the attack!_

She had seen something similar in pokemon battles before; it was a defensive psychic move. Cameron sighed. _Great,_ she thought, _I just showed Fin I can use pokemon attacks. Now he knows I can talk to pokemon _and_ fight like them…_

Cameron allowed her Barrier to fade, and she turned to look at Fin.

"That was incredible," he remarked amazedly. "Can you do it again? I want to try something…"

Cameron sighed. "Okay," she agreed. Fin didn't seem to be bothered by the fact that she'd just used a pokemon attack; plus, he'd already seen it once, so doing it again wasn't going to change anything.

Fin reached for his pokeballs again. This time, he brought out three new pokemon: Jynx, Exeggutor, and Mr. Mime, all at level forty or above.

_He's got a Mr. Mime, _Cameron thought, _so he has to have seen a Barrier before. He must know exactly what I just did._ After determining this, Fin's reaction confused Cameron even more. _He should have been weirded out, but instead he seemed impressed by it!_

Suddenly, all five of the pokemon lunged at her, all using physical attacks (excluding Alakazam, which used Confusion). Executor used Stomp, Jynx and Mr. Mime attacked with Double Slap, and Poliwrath used Body Slam.

Together, the five attacks were enough to completely drain the HP of a very powerful pokemon. Determinedly, Cameron erected her Barrier, taking extra care to make sure it was sturdy.

At the last minute, she realized that Barrier was designed to raise defense— it would not protect against Alakazam's special attack. With this in mind, Cameron's eyes glowed blue and she counteracted the blow with pure psychic energy.

All of the pokemon crashed into her glowing, blue fortress. Cameron could feel in her mind that the attacks were powerful, but her Barrier was more than enough to compensate. The pokemon fell to the floor, groaning and rubbing their sore limbs.

Cameron took down her protective wall and studied Fin, who was speechless.

"Wow," he finally said, withdrawing his pokemon. He shook his head, appearing to be in disbelief. "I have never seen anything like that. That was amazing, Cameron."

The sincerity of his comment made Cameron uncomfortable. She wasn't used to hearing real praise from anyone. Sometimes, people would compliment her after she'd used her psychic powers to manipulate them into thinking she was someone special, like at her birthday party, but those didn't count.

Still, a question burned in Cameron's mind that she _had_ to know the answer to.

"But don't you think it's weird?" Cameron blurted out to Fin, "My psychic powers aren't like yours— I had to use a Barrier attack to defend myself. You wouldn't have had to do that."

"Cameron," Fin said earnestly, "I would not have been able to block those attacks at all. No way. But you stopped them all like they were nothing. It doesn't matter how you did it; it was incredible."

Cameron looked away, blushing once again.

"Although… it does make me wonder…"

Cameron turned back to him, and her heart rate increased. This whole time, she'd been hoping Fin believed she was a regular human, just with very strong psychic abilities. But now that he knew she could use pokemon attacks, maybe he would put two and two together…

Fin frowned and looked at her critically, as if trying to figure out a puzzle. "When I first sensed your psychic signature before I met you that night at the club, I couldn't decide if I was sensing a pokemon or a human. Then, I find out you can talk to pokemon, and now I see you can use pokemon attacks."

Cameron swallowed, not saying anything. She had no idea whether Sabrina and Fin knew she was part pokemon or not; since Sabrina had spoken to her father, she suspected that the Saffron gym leader did, but Cameron doubted she had shared any information with Fin.

"So… don't take this the wrong way, but I'm totally confused. What… are you?"

Cameron turned away from him evasively, unsure of what she should say. _Should I just tell him everything? _she wondered. _But I just met him a couple of weeks ago, and I've never told anybody before!_

"Look, if it makes you feel any better, I'm not going to judge you or anything. I'm just… curious, I guess. I've met a lot of psychics, and none of them have been anything like you. For one thing, you're the most powerful psychic I have ever met, and that's including both humans _and_ pokemon. "

Cameron turned back to him, still conflicted. She saw honesty in his emerald eyes, and somehow she _wanted _to tell him… but it was a difficult decision.

"How do I know you're not gonna think I'm a freak?" she blurted out, surprised at how much anxiety she heard in her own voice.

Fin sighed. "Well, I could just tell you that I _won't_, but I don't know if you're going to buy that. So, instead, I'm going to tell you something about me."

Cameron was silent, waiting for him to continue. _I know hardly anything about him,_ she realized, and that made her curious what Fin would tell her.

"Until I met Sabrina," Fin continued, "I thought _I_ was a freak."

_Fin_? Cameron thought, a _freak?_ That was hard to believe. He looked so normal and seemed so put together and confident.

"I grew up in Vermillion City," he said, "with two rich parents… two _normal _parents." Looking at Cameron seriously, he added, "I was the only psychic they had ever seen."

Cameron nodded that she understood. _Until I found out about my real dad, Mewtwo, I thought the same was true of me and my parents, _she remembered.

"When I was young, my powers were totally out of control. When I'd get upset, I'd accidentally break things, teleport myself around the house, or sometimes… even hurt people. Not purposefully, of course." He paused for a moment before continuing. "Anyway, I had no one to train me, and my parents were completely terrified of me. They never wanted me to use my powers… ever."

"My mom was the same way!" Cameron exclaimed impulsively.

Fin nodded. "Then you understand how lonely it is when no one is like you— everybody's normal, and you're… the freak."

There was a somber silence then as Cameron (and, she inferred, Fin as well) remembered those trying times in her upbringing, and now she felt sad that she'd been so alone.

Finally, Fin spoke again. "Then, when I was about twelve, my parents took me to a pokemon tournament in Celadon City. Sabrina was one of the judges. During the tournament, my mom and I got into an argument, and I got so upset I just lost it." He shook his head regretfully, "Accidentally, my telekinesis cracked the floor of the arena and a couple of walls. The owner of the building and my parents were furious."

Cameron understood this completely; she'd gotten into plenty of arguments with her mother over the years about using her powers, and, when she'd gotten upset, it had only exacerbated the problem.

"But Sabrina got involved then," Fin explained. "She convinced everyone that it wasn't my fault; I needed training. Then, she offered to take me in and work with me at the Saffron Gym."

"Wasn't that kind of weird?" Cameron asked him, "I mean, you'd just met her."

"Not really," Fin answered, a contemplative look coming over his face. "You know how it is. Psychics can sense each other's signatures. Hers was the first I had ever been able to identify, and it was comforting… finally, I knew that there _were_ others like me… that I wasn't the only one."

Cameron nodded. That explanation made sense to her, though she hadn't had a comparable experience in her own life. The closest thing to it was when she had first met Mewtwo, which she barely remembered now. Mewtwo's powers had seemed virtually identical to hers, which had been somewhat relieving, but she'd also known that he was a pokemon, which had just confused her more. _I've never met another person like me,_ Cameron thought, _because I'm not completely human._

"Unsurprisingly, my parents agreed, and I moved to Saffron that same week," Fin said. "I've only spoken to my parents a few times since then. I think they do love me deep down, but they're just… scared, I guess." His expression darkened a little. "A few years ago I found out that they adopted another kid… a girl, with no psychic powers. I guess they didn't want to risk having another kid like me," he finished somewhat bitterly.

"That's horrible," Cameron commented sincerely, but Fin shrugged her off.

"I don't really care anymore," he said, "I've got Sabrina, and I love working at this gym with a bunch of other psychics, so it's all good."

Cameron didn't quite buy that, but she could tell that he was done with discussing the topic, so she didn't press him to continue.

"So," Fin said, brightening, "now that I've overloaded you with details about me, what's your story?"

Cameron smiled at him. Usually, Fin either annoyed her or made her feel guilty, but, right now, she didn't feel either of those things. She felt… lighter, somehow, like she _could_ tell him everything, and he would understand. _And as much as I think my childhood sucked sometimes, _she noted, _at least my real parents didn't basically abandon me._

"I'm not overloaded," Cameron reassured Fin, and he chuckled. She took a deep breath. _Here goes…_ "Until I was seven years old, I was kind of like you. I thought I had two normal parents— Ash and Misty Ketchum— and that I was the abnormal one."

She explained to Fin how Misty had always become angry when Cameron tried to use her powers, and how her mother had always told her she needed to keep them a secret for her protection. Fin nodded in understanding, and Cameron suspected his parents had probably told him something similar.

"My mom knew about my powers," Cameron explained, "but my "dad" was totally oblivious." She looked away embarrassedly. She didn't really want to tell Fin the next part. "So, since I couldn't use my abilities around my mom, I did all the time around Ash. I used to mess with him, playing jokes on him or convincing him psychically that I'd already done my homework and chores and stuff." For the first time, Cameron realized that she felt guilty about this.

She had expected Fin to get on her case about that part, but he just remained silent, politely listening.

"Anyway, then, when I was seven, something strange happened." She went on to tell Fin about finding the articles about Mew and Mewtwo online, and about seeing the image of an unfamiliar man in her mother's mind. Fin seemed confused at this point, as if he wasn't sure where her story was going, until she got to the Team Rocket kidnapping.

"It was totally weird," she said, "I mean, I was blindfolded on this helicopter, and then, the moment we got out, the same man I had seen in my mom's head showed up. I hadn't even been sure he was a real person, but there he was. And somehow, even before my mom told me, I knew he was my real father."

"Wow," Fin commented in amazement. "That must have thrown you."

"Kind of," Cameron said, "but… at the same time… I had always known there was something different about me. I just didn't naturally think or act the same way as my "parents". Plus, I had always been able to understand pokemon speech, which I knew neither of them could do. So, my point is, finding out about my real father explained a lot."

Fin looked perplexed. "Okay," he said, "so you found out this man was your real father. But… he's a _man_. Not a pokemon. So I'm still not sure where all your special abilities came from."

Cameron nodded. "I know; I was confused, too. But even though my dad looked human, my mom told me he wasn't. He's… a pokemon that can change into a human."

Fin gaped. "But… that's insane! How is it even possible?"

"I don't know," Cameron said, "but I think it's really weird, too. I guess my mom and he got together when he was in human form and… you know." Her face grew hot; she never liked to think about that part. "But, I guess, even when he turns into a human, he still has some pokemon DNA. So, anyway, that's how I ended up being part pokemon."

"What kind of pokemon is he?" Fin questioned.

"Well… a "Mewtwo", I guess. I don't really know." Cameron tightened her fists angrily. "That's the thing; I don't know _anything_! Nobody has ever explained any of this in detail to me. I've always been left to draw my own conclusions. There is _nobody_ like me I can turn to for guidance. I _am _a freak, and I'm all alone!" She felt tears spring to the corners of her eyes.

Fin looked at her with concern. "Cameron…"

She ignored him and continued, shaking her head and laughing cuttingly. "That's not even the worst part. Then, Ash, who I'd lived with and thought was my dad for seven years, left with no explanation. I think it was because of some stupid fight that he got into with my mom over Mewtwo, my real dad, and the kidnapping, but I don't really know because, again, no one ever tells me anything."

Cameron felt herself becoming enraged as she fought back the tears. She sensed alarm in Fin's psychic signature, but at this point she couldn't calm down.

"And then, as if that isn't bad enough, my "real dad" shows up at the breakfast table the next day."

As Cameron's anger built up, a vortex of psychic energy began to swirl around her body.

"Cameron… please… we don't have to talk about this right now. I'm worried." Fin appeared to be half sympathetic and half afraid of her.

"No," she snapped, "let's talk _now_." The translucent blue waves of energy climbed higher and higher. "He shows up at the fucking _breakfast table_," she ranted. "I was seven years old, and my mom didn't even think I'd notice that the "dad" I'd lived with my whole life had been replaced by this… by this… _stranger._"

Cameron's psychic projections reached the ceiling, tickling the fragile light fixture above her, which shattered and showered her and Fin with shards of glass. Fin held his arms above his head to protect himself, but Cameron allowed the pieces to fall and cover her, many of them slicing clean, red lines in her skin.

She noticed the pain, yes, but she felt oddly detached from her body, as if she was observing herself from somewhere else. Studying her bleeding arms, she said softly, "If I am not human, does that make my blood different from yours? Is it pokemon blood?"

Brushing the glass off himself, Fin ran to Cameron, struggling to pass through her fortress of psychic energy.

"You have to stop this," he cried out, shaking her. "This is dangerous!"

The combination of Cameron's own fury and the panic she sensed in Fin pushed her over the edge.

She saw the bright blue glow of her eyes reflected in Fin's green ones, and, out of her control, she released a huge surge of psychic energy. Fin was forcefully knocked backwards, flying through the air and falling to the ground in a heap twenty or thirty feet away.

Everything was quiet.

Slowly, Cameron's cloud of energy dissipated as she was brought back to reality by the magnitude of the situation. Finally feeling the sting of the abrasions on her skin, Cameron used Recover to heal her injuries.

Her heart pounded when she saw Fin lying on the gym floor, motionless. His right leg was twisted at an odd angle under him, and Cameron rushed to his side. Panicking, she thought, _what have I done?_


	15. The Rocket's Trap

Author's Note:

Okay… as **StarWriterWG **pointed out, there are 4 active cliffhangers at this point in the story. Maybe resolving one will suffice for now?

**PikaMewGirl: **I am so flattered you have created a "shipping" for Cameron and Fin! Your review made me smile. Maybe you could come up with the name for the Mewtwo/Misty pairing (clever phrases are not my strong suit)? Thanks for the cookies. I will make sure to save one (or five) for you. :)

I think I responded to the other two reviews privately.

Hopefully, this chapter will surprise you a little… this plot is getting thicker than my grandmother's chocolate pudding.

R&R (read and review, THEN rest and relax).

~TheFrogFromHell

**Chapter 15**

"Fin," Cameron cried frantically, "Fin… wake up. Please wake up."

She breathed a sigh of relief as the boy groaned and stirred. Cameron choked, and the tears that had been threatening to overtake her finally escaped, streaming down her cheeks.

"I'm so sorry," she exclaimed as he came to. "I don't know why that happened… I never meant to hurt you."

She winced as she sensed the intense physical pain that Fin was experiencing. It was so strong that she didn't even need to try to enter his mind to feel it; it emanated from him like waves of searing heat.

"Cameron…" he said softly, and she could tell that the severe pain was interfering with his ability to think and speak coherently.

"Wait," she interrupted. _I created this problem, _she decided, _and now I'm going to fix it._

Focusing on Fin's injured leg, she could feel in her mind that it was broken in several places. It began to glow blue as Cameron slid the bones back into place telekinetically, fusing them back together and accelerating the healing process.

Fin cried out in agony, and she knew that what she was doing had to be excruciating for him. _But it's better than the alternative, _she reasoned, _getting a cast, nails, and bolts, and having to wait for months to walk again._

Finally, she sensed that she was finished. The blue glow faded from Fin's leg to reveal a normally shaped calf, knee, and thigh. Cameron perceived Fin's sensations of pain diminishing, and he slowly sat up.

Gingerly, he attempted to move his newly healed limb. The astonished expression on his face told Cameron that she had succeeded in mending it completely.

"It's not broken," he remarked. "Cameron… that' s amazing. You're amazing."

He looked at her with awe and admiration, and that only made her feel guiltier.

"Yeah, right," she contradicted, ashamed. "I'm the one who did it in the first place."

"Which was equally amazing," Fin interjected, "but also… really, really scary."

The two sat in silence for a moment. Cameron was dying to know what Fin was thinking about the whole situation, but she didn't want to prod around in his mind; he'd been through a lot, and she didn't want to make him suffer anymore.

"I'm sorry," Cameron said again.

"It's okay," Fin assured her.

"No, it's not okay! I could have killed you!" _Doesn't he see how dangerous I am?_

Fin sighed, but he did not respond. Then, to Cameron's shock, he pulled her toward him and wrapped his arms around her.

She could feel the warmth of his body and his heartbeat, in sync with her own. It was a soothing, comfortable sensation that Cameron had never experienced before.

"I know," Fin said softly in her ear, and his hot breath made her heart flutter. "But right now, it's okay." Even though, logically, Cameron knew that made no sense, and that it _wasn't _okay for her to lose control like that, somehow she was able to accept Fin's words and still her mind.

They held each other for what seemed like hours, but it still wasn't long enough.

Then, abruptly, they were interrupted by a noise.

"Haunt!"

Cameron broke away from Fin and turned around to see her pokemon, Haunter, floating several feet away from her. She sensed alarm in the pokemon, and said, "what's wrong, Haunter? What are you doing here?"

"Haunter! Haunt, haunt!"

Cameron understood it to have said, "Please help! Mew's in trouble!"

_Mew? In trouble? But it's so powerful… what could have happened?_ She frowned. _And what were they doing out of their pokeballs, anyhow?_

"What's going on?" asked Fin.

"Haunter says that something's happened to Mew," Cameron replied nervously. "Haunter… where is Mew? What happened?"

The pokemon explained to her that they had been exploring outside, and Mew had been attacked by some super powerful pokemon that Haunter had never seen before.

Cameron turned to Fin. "I have to go help Mew," she said decidedly.

Fin looked worried. "But… Sabrina…" a conflicted expression came over Fin's features. "You're not supposed to leave the gym. Sabrina said we were supposed to stay here while she was gone… actually, now that I think of it, she should have been back from that meeting hours ago…"

That annoyed Cameron. "But, it's my pokemon! There's no way I'm just going to stand by and let something horrible happen to it!"

Fin sighed. "Okay," he said, "but I won't let you go alone. I'm coming with you."

"Deal," Cameron agreed, and the two began navigating their way through the labyrinth of warp panels to the gym's exit. Fin knew it well by now, so it didn't take them long.

Outside, Cameron and Fin found Haunter, who had simply passed through the walls to exit the building, waiting impatiently for them. "Haunt, haunt!" it exclaimed, beckoning for them to follow.

Running as fast as she could, with Fin right next to her, Cameron weaved her way across streets and between buildings towards the outskirts of Saffron. _"Exploring outside"? _Cameron thought, scoffing at Haunter mentally. _From how far we've gone, it looks like they were exploring out of city._

Then, Haunter stopped suddenly, and Cameron and Fin almost ran into it (or, rather, ran through it). It seemed to be looking around or listening for something.

"Is this where Mew was attacked?" Cameron questioned, but Haunter shushed her.

She took the time to observe her surroundings. They were on the very edge of the city, where only a few run down buildings loomed over them. The trees that surrounded Cameron appeared dark and twisted, and when they swayed in the breeze it was as if they were performing some eerie, mysterious dance.

"I don't like this," Fin remarked, stating Cameron's thoughts aloud.

"Me neither," Cameron agreed, "but we have to find Mew."

Suddenly, Haunter shouted to Cameron, "HAUNTER! HAUNT!"

She barely had time to register that the pokemon had said, "Cameron, look out!" before she felt a sharp, cold blow to the back of her head, and then she ate pavement.

"Cameron!" she heard Fin exclaim.

Groaning, and noticing a pool of crimson blood on the ground where she'd fallen, she picked herself up painfully and turned around.

A huge group of pokemon, most with strange markings or unusual proportions, surrounded Cameron, Fin, and Haunter. Cameron had never seen anything like them before. There were at least twenty of them; maybe more. _And one of them just sucker punched me with an Ice Beam attack, _Cameron thought angrily.

"What do you want?" she demanded, but, to her frustration, she only sensed an aura of cruel amusement emanating from the group.

"Blast," said an enormous and intimidating blastoise, stepping out in front of the group. Cameron began to feel fearful when she understood that it had said, "_you_".

Another one of the pokemon, Charizard, roared and shot its best Flamethrower at her, but this time she was prepared, and she blocked it psychically.

"Leave me and my pokemon alone," she ordered them. "I don't even know who you are!"

"But we know who _you _are," said Blastoise in pokemon speech, "or, rather, _what _you are, hybrid!"

Two attacks were fired at her at once then. One was an electric attack, and Cameron wasn't sure which direction it had come from. The other was a Razor Wind attack generated by a huge pidgeot standing next to Blastoise. Cameron was able to block the attacks again, but it took a lot of effort— these pokemon were much, much stronger than Fin's pokemon had been.

"Cameron, run!" Fin exclaimed as one of the pokemon directed a Water Gun at him, and he narrowly dodged it.

Cameron took Fin's suggestion, and they took off running together. _Mew, _Cameron projected telepathically, hoping that the pokemon was nearby and that it would hear her. _Are you there? I know you might still be mad at me, but it's really important that you answer me! _But she heard only silence in her mind. She also didn't see Haunter anymore, and she hoped it was okay.

Cameron shrieked as she felt a sharp pain in her leg, and it buckled under her. She collapsed to the ground, and her knee hit the pavement… hard.

Fin, who had run ahead of her, stopped in his tracks and whirled around. "Cameron!" He yelled, running back to her.

"Ouch!" she cried out, but the pain was the least of her worries. She looked behind her to see the group of strange pokemon approaching her, all poised to assault her with their most powerful attacks…

Suddenly, a beat up, black sedan pulled up in front of Cameron and Fin, stopping so abruptly that its tires screeched.

The driver of the car opened the door. "Quick!" she shrieked, "get in!"

Fin grabbed Cameron's hand, pulling her to her feet, and, with his other hand, he yanked open the car's back door, leaping inside and dragging Cameron in with him.

_Wow, _Cameron thought to herself, _he's really strong when he needs to be._ She slammed the car's door closed, and the vehicle's tires screeched again as the driver thrust her foot down hard on the accelerator.

_Thanks, _Fin answered back telepathically, and Cameron looked at him and smiled.

She examined her injured knee. It was scraped, bleeding, and beginning to swell up, but it didn't seem like anything was seriously wrong with it. She'd heal it psychically when she got the chance, but she didn't want to in front of the driver…

Cameron and Fin jumped as they heard the loud "bang" of something colliding with the rear of the car. Cameron glanced out the back window to see that the group of pokemon was not far behind them, firing attacks at the vehicle.

Another forceful blow rattled the car, and the driver cursed, "Shit! I just got this thing back from the mechanic."

Cameron studied the woman's reflection in the rear view mirror. _She looks awfully familiar…_

Then, it hit her. "Hey! You were there that day to watch me battle with the Karate King!"

For some reason, the woman looked a little uneasy. Cameron noticed that she wasn't wearing her dark sunglasses, and her eyes were a cold shade of blue-grey.

"Yep," the driver confirmed cheerfully, smiling a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "As I said, I'm your biggest fan!"

A little suspicious, Cameron tried to tap into the woman's mind. Oddly, she could only decipher one, very loud thought: "LEAVE IT TO ME TO HELP OUT!"

Frowning, Cameron sat back in her seat. _Well, she did save our lives, _she thought, _how bad could she be?_

…

_I've just got to make it a little bit farther, _Domino thought anxiously. She hoped the car would make it back to Silph Co.; if not, assuming she made it there alive herself, Giovanni would not be pleased with her. Of course, maybe Cameron didn't _have_ to be alive for Giovanni to extract her DNA…

"So… where are we headed, exactly?" asked the attractive blonde boy from the back seat. _I wonder if he's single?_ Domino speculated.

She quickly banished the thought from her mind. There were more important matters at hand. "We're headed to where I work," she answered, "we'll be safe there."

Another loud "bang" came from the back of the car, accompanied by a troubling clunking noise, and Domino gulped.

"Well… I hope we're close," Cameron said.

"Of course," Domino said, trying to keep her annoyance out of her tone of voice. It wasn't _her _fault they'd been attacked on the opposite side of town from Silph. "We're almost there!"

Surely enough, within a couple of minutes, the car pulled up in front of the huge building.

Domino turned to her passengers. "On the count of three, we sprint for the door. Ready?"

They nodded resolutely.

"Okay… one, two— "

"RUN FOR IT!" yelled the boy, and he and Cameron quickly exited the car. Domino looked up to see a massive Fire Blast headed straight for the vehicle. She screamed and rushed out of the car, following the kids to the front door of the building. She barely got out in time before the car was engulfed by flames. _Damn it, _she thought, _I'll never be able to afford another car!_

Domino opened the door of the building, inviting her "guests" inside, and she closed and locked the door behind them.

Cameron and the blond boy were surveying the room, appearing perplexed. Domino noticed the state of the manmade pond and realized she'd overlooked how filthy the water had become. That, the dirtiness of the floor and walls, and the lack of a receptionist at the desk didn't help Silph's case. _This place is a shit hole, _Domino admitted to herself reluctantly. She just hoped she could keep Cameron in it long enough for Giovanni to carry out his plan.

"Welcome to Silph Co.!" she chirped brightly.


	16. Nightly Garbage Run

Author's Note:

I can't believe I'm posting Chapter 16 already! This is the beginning of The End, guys. It's serious business. Also... "Hybrid" will, from here on out, be listed in the 50K+ category! Isn't that great? (Errr...)

**StarWriterWG: **I think you meant tttm (Ta Ta Till Monday) ;). Hahaha… I think you hate Giovanni more than I do (which isn't that surprising… he's actually one of my favorite characters, along with Domino, if you couldn't tell). I cannot wait until you read one of the upcoming chapters. I am so excited.

**PikaMewGirl: **That is… BRILLIANT! I might even put Purplewavesshipping in my story summary for "Human". Thanks!

**Brisenberg: **Shirley? As in, Temple? Anyhow, Monday is here! The wait is over! Your questions (at least, maybe some of them? Maybe? Errr…) will be answered! Yaaay!

Thanks everyone for reading and reviewing. I'm very grateful to have dedicated readers, and I get dangerously excited whenever I get a review or a favorite. Seriously, if I find out I got one while I'm at work, I just want to announce to all my coworkers, "GUYS! I GOT A NEW FAVORITE FOR MY POKEMON STORY!" hahaha… thankfully I have some self-restraint.

Enjoy the chapter!

~TheFrogFromHell

**Chapter 16**

Misty cursed to herself as she zipped down the freeway at breakneck speed. All she wanted to do was drive fast enough to escape the unpleasant feelings she had after the events in Saffron City, but a low, thick fog was slowing her down and forcing her to face her regrets. After her awful exchange with Mewtwo, she'd wandered around Saffron for hours, not wanting to return to the lonely, empty house waiting for her back in Cerulean, but unsure where else to go.

Now, Mewtwo was gone, and Giovanni was still at large. Although Sabrina had postponed the decision to return his gym leader position to him, Misty doubted that the National Gym Leaders Council would find any valid reason to prolong his license suspension. As far as Misty knew, Giovanni had never violated any league regulations while working at Viridian Gym (at least, none that anyone was aware of), and, to an outsider, it would appear very prejudiced of Sabrina to have denied him his post after he had been declared "innocent".

_It's only a matter of time,_ Misty thought. _Soon, he will be back to his old job, and everything will be exactly the same as it was. _She remembered when she and Cameron had been kidnapped by Giovanni's Team Rocket minions years ago. If Giovanni was a gym leader again, there would be nothing to prevent him from building that team back up, and there was nothing Misty could do about it.

_Yes there is,_ nagged a voice in Misty's head. _All you have to do is tell someone._

_Like who?_ she argued with herself. _The police? Brock? _Telling the police would most definitely prompt Giovanni to reveal Misty's secret to everyone who would listen, and she couldn't tell Brock about being kidnapped by Team Rocket without explaining that the organization had captured her because of her proximity to Mewtwo.

Then, Misty realized there was someone she could tell. There was one person who already knew about her and Mewtwo. It was a gamble whether or not he would give her the time of day, but maybe she could try…

_Ash, _she thought, _I have to tell Ash. _As much as she didn't want to see him again (she had been ever so relieved when the meeting in Saffron had ended), he was the only hope Misty had of keeping Giovanni from regaining all of his former power and influence in the League and in the world. It was the least she could do for Mewtwo, as well as for herself and everyone else who would suffer in the future because of Giovanni.

_I have to do this, _she decided firmly, _I have to try. _She just hoped that Giovanni hadn't brainwashed Ash so much that he wouldn't even give her the chance to speak.

With her new goal in mind, Misty bypassed her exit— the one that would have taken her back to Cerulean. Instead, she merged onto Highway 4 towards Pewter City. After Pewter, it would be a short and direct route to Viridian. Feeling nervous, yet somehow relieved to have formulated a plan, Misty was pleased to find that the heavy fog clouding the road was beginning to lift.

…

As night fell, so did Mewtwo's resolve. The sheer shock of discovering that Giovanni was still free and that there was a possibility of him regaining the same power that he'd once had had alarmed and infuriated Mewtwo so much that perhaps his strong emotions had interfered with his logical thinking.

Mewtwo had been traveling from Saffron back to Cerulean for several hours, flying high above civilization in his pokemon form. In the course of that time, his fiery anger had been reduced to discontentment, and then it had given way to immense sadness and regret.

_Misty did not deserve my outburst,_ Mewtwo thought remorsefully as he crossed the Cerulean City limits. Misty may have prevented the arrest and detention of Giovanni, but, given the circumstances, what had been the alternative? If Giovanni had revealed Mewtwo's identity to the police, there would have been a legitimate possibility that they would have tracked Mewtwo down for his destruction. It was unlikely that law enforcement would have accepted, as Misty had, that Mewtwo had changed since his murderous stint the day of his birth.

What still bothered Mewtwo, though, was that Misty had hidden her arrangement with Giovanni from Mewtwo for so many years, and that it was apparent from the guilt and uncertainty abundant in Misty's mind that there were other reasons for her keeping their relationship secret besides the practical aspects.

_Even after spending years fabricating a body for myself that Misty would not fear, _Mewtwo thought, some of his anger returning, _I am still not enough for her. _He remembered meeting Brock, and how Mewtwo had sensed relief and calmness in Misty while her old friend was present. Brock, with his rough, imperfect skin, the subtle creases lining his face, his unusually small eyes, and his dark hair that was almost imperceptibly flecked with gray. _My human form is far superior to his, _Mewtwo knew. His human body was genetically flawless; it was immune to any heritable diseases, would never age unless Mewtwo desired it to, and, visually, it was perfectly symmetrical and proportional, unlike a regular human's.

But still, Mewtwo had sensed that Brock's presence had soothed Misty, while Mewtwo's had made her uncomfortable. Mewtwo knew that Misty loved him, but would they really be happy remaining together if she was more content to spend time with a human she hadn't seen in ages than to be in the company of Mewtwo, her partner of nine years?

As Mewtwo drew nearer to the house he lived in with Misty, he felt more and more conflicted about what their next encounter would entail. He realized he had been unreasonable during their argument, but were his lingering concerns simply products of his anger about Misty's agreement with Giovanni, or could they be real flaws in his relationship with Misty?

Mewtwo approached the driveway and descended downward towards it. He was perplexed when he noticed that Misty's car was absent. _She should have been home by now, _he thought anxiously. The house's windows were dark, and it, the yard, and the driveway were enveloped by an eerie silence and stillness that put Mewtwo on edge. _Something is not right._

Abruptly, his worries were confirmed. From far away, he sensed just the tiniest hint of something very disturbing. His first thought was that it was Misty, and that Giovanni had captured her again to lure Mewtwo to him. However, Mewtwo quickly realized that the fear he was sensing was embedded within a psychic signature— a psychic signature identical to his own. _Cameron, _he thought, horrified, _something is happening to Cameron. _He was unsure what it could be, but flashes of horrific scenarios involving both Giovanni and the cloned pokemon came to mind.

Instinctively, he took off, flying at top speed back towards Saffron city. He weaved skillfully through the branches of tall trees and around buildings, the chilly evening wind cutting into him as he pressed on. _At this pace, _he determined, _I can make it to Saffron in one hour's time. _He just hoped that he wouldn't arrive too late…

He made it past Route 9 and past Rock Tunnel with no difficulties, though he shuddered a little when he remembered his encounter with the pidgeot clone. _When the Cinnabar scientists created me, they created a monster they could not control, _Mewtwo thought repentantly, _and, on New Island, I did the same._

Around the time that Mewtwo reached Lavender Town, something strange occurred— he stopped sensing distress in Cameron's psychic signature. That could only mean that one of two things had happened: the danger had dissipated, or Cameron was unconscious, or worse. He hoped it wasn't the latter, but he also doubted that it could be; he thought he still faintly sensed his daughter's signature somewhere, but it was just more difficult, since strong emotions like fear and anger were most easily detected.

However, even with that in mind, he had to make sure that Cameron was safe. Sabrina had promised to protect her, but, knowing Cameron, she could easily have disobeyed orders and snuck out of the training facility unbeknownst to the Saffron gym leader.

As soon as Mewtwo reached the end of Route 8 and entered Saffron City, he became aware of a presence and stopped dead in his tracks. His blood ran cold when he realized that there were a number of beings, all seething with anger, and they were all focused intensely on the same target.

Mewtwo.

_Show yourself,_ he commanded them telepathically, immediately becoming aware of the identities of the beings.

"As you wish, father," one of them said satirically in pokemon speech.

Making themselves visible, the group of clones surrounded Mewtwo. There were two dozen altogether, and Mewtwo sensed that all of them, like Pidgeot, had greatly increased their power since he'd last seen them. Most of them were at level one hundred, and all of their levels exceeded eighty.

Mewtwo had understood their position regarding Cameron when he had met Pidgeot, but now, he was unaware of the reason for their intense hostility. When Pidgeot and Mewtwo had parted after their encounter, Mewtwo had understood that, if he heeded Pidgeot's warning about attempting to interfere with their pursuit of Cameron, they would let him alone for the time being. Not that he had intended to comply, but, thus far, he hadn't needed to take any action to protect his daughter other than leaving her with Sabrina.

The blastoise clone stepped forward, and Mewtwo could tell by its air of authority and confidence that it was the group's leader.

"Father," Blastoise said, calmly but ominously, "Pidgeot was very kind to caution you against meddling with our plans, but you have chosen to disregard its forewarning, and that leaves us no choice but to destroy you."

Mewtwo tensed up, readying himself for combat.

_Wait, _he projected, puzzled, _when have I interfered with your plans? Of course, my daughter's safety is of the utmost importance to me, but I have not encountered any of you since my meeting with Pidgeot._

Blastoise chuckled. "Do not try to trick us," it said, sounding amused. "You may not have tried to protect the creature yourself, but we know it was you who sent the woman in the car to rescue it and that human."

Mewtwo was taken aback; he had no idea what Blastoise was talking about. _Woman in a car? And "that human"?_ Mewtwo reasoned that, perhaps, the fear he'd sensed in Cameron's psychic signature had disappeared after she had been rescued by whoever this woman was.

"I know nothing about those events," Mewtwo stated decisively and honestly.

"YOU LIE!" bellowed the powerful voice of the venasaur clone, and, without warning, it directed its most powerful Solar Beam attack at Mewtwo, who blocked it telekinetically. Even through his psychic barrier, Mewtwo could feel the sheer force behind the attack, and he marveled at its intensity. _It must have been saving sunlight all day in preparation, _he thought.

Wanting to remind the clone pokemon that he was not something that could simply be "disposed of" at their convenience, he absorbed the energy of Venasaur's attack into his psychic barrier, allowing it to combine with the power of the shield. Then, he hurled the huge wall of accumulated energy towards Venasaur at an unstoppable velocity, knocking the enormous pokemon off its feet and flinging it through the air.

But as he had done that, he had failed to notice that behind him, the charizard clone had aimed its own Flamethrower attack at Mewtwo. He barely blocked the attack in time, feeling the scorching heat radiating through his psychic shield.

Charizard laughed triumphantly. "I may have missed you that time," it said, "but there is no escaping us. We _will_ destroy you, the disgusting hybrid creature you created, and the human who helped bring such a monstrosity into this world."

It spat flames at him once again, more for intimidation than anything else, and the group of powerful clones moved toward Mewtwo, closing in.

The battle for the lives of Cameron, Mewtwo, and Misty had begun.

…

Ash sighed as he sat alone in his office at the back of Viridian Gym. With one hand, he absentmindedly stroked Pikachu's yellow head, and, with the other, he drummed his fingers on his desk next to the pokeballs holding Charizard, Butterfree, Pidgeot, Bulbasaur, and Squirtle. Even after all these years, those five and Pikachu were his go-to team; Ash was so close to them that it was almost if, when they were battling for him, they would anticipate his next order before he gave it.

Allowing his mind to drift back to the Kanto Gym Leaders Council meeting again, Ash wished things could go back to the way they used to be, when he'd had a clear, feasible goal— becoming the Pokemon League Champion— that he'd been working towards, rather than remaining stagnant, stuck in a state of bland equilibrium.

If there had been any chance of Ash getting his Elite Four position back, Giovanni had ruined it by lashing out at Sabrina. On one hand, Ash could understand why Giovanni had been so upset; Sabrina had been completely unreasonable when she'd announced she was going to take the matter to the National Gym Leaders Council. She'd offered no clear explanation for the decision, and Ash gathered it had been the same years ago when the council had first revoked Giovanni's license.

However, there was also something… _off _about Giovanni that Ash couldn't quite put his finger on. Something about the intensity of the man's anger had made Ash uneasy, but it was more than that. Even during their first phone conversation, Ash had sensed that something wasn't right. The call had made Ash feel uncomfortable at first, but then it had been as if Giovanni had known _exactly_ what to say to make him feel better. _He must have done his research, _thought Ash. _I'd never even met him before, and he'd already known all about my record at Indigo Plateau and that I was the one who took over Viridian Gym._

Part of Ash still couldn't help but feel a little sympathetic towards the man, though; Giovanni was getting older, he was disabled, and, as far as Ash knew, he had no reliable source of income. He'd been desperate just to get his old gym leader job back, which, as Ash now knew, wouldn't pay nearly as well as an Elite Four position. Perhaps yelling at Sabrina had simply been an act of desperation. _Or_ _maybe he's just got anger issues, _Ash speculated, but somehow he thought that something more sinister was buried underneath that.

Ash was startled when he heard a knock on his office door. _Who's that?_ he wondered. _It can't be Olivia; she never knocks._

"Come in," Ash said perplexedly, and, to his shock, the door swung open and Brock entered.

"Hey," the Pewter gym leader said. Ash had seen him briefly at the meeting, but they hadn't had a chance to talk.

"Hey," Ash said, still a little confused. _Why has he come to Viridian? _he wondered. Brock hadn't visited him in a long time; sadly, the strength of their friendship had diminished over the years.

Brock looked almost the same as Ash remembered him, except that, perhaps, there were a few more lines on his face, and a few gray hairs interspersed with the dark brown.

"I just…" Brock said uncomfortably, looking away, "I saw you at the meeting, and I just wanted to talk. It's been so long…"

"Yeah," Ash agreed, "it has."

The two stood in silence for a few moments, and Ash could sense that there was something bothering his old friend.

Finally, Brock took a deep breath and gazed directly at Ash.

"Look," he said, "I don't know how you and Giovanni happened to end up working together, but what happened at that meeting was… was…" he seemed to be having difficulty choosing the right word.

"I know it was bad," Ash admitted, looking away uncomfortably. "When we talked before the meeting, I thought things would be different. I never expected him to… lash out like he did."

Brock nodded. "Ash, I know you, and I know you probably meant well, but… getting together with Giovanni like that in order to get back in the Elite Four… it was unlike you. The Ash I know would prove he deserved the position himself, rather than bringing someone else into it." He furrowed his brow and shook his head as if puzzled. "Plus… you've gotta admit, the guy's just… _creepy_. When I saw you two sitting next to each other at that table… I don't know, I just felt kinda queasy. Y'know?"

Ash did know, exactly. He looked at Brock and said, "to be honest, I totally agree with you. I never would have chosen to get together with Giovanni, except… well, he called me a couple of weeks ago, and I felt sorry for the guy. I mean, he's handicapped, poor, and got treated totally unfairly by the council before. Plus, he was really pushy about me calling Sabrina…"

"Are you sure he was treated unfairly?" Brock interrupted, and Ash looked at him inquisitively.

"Well, his gym leader's license was taken away for no good reason," Ash replied, "I mean, he was proven innocent."

"I don't know about that," Brock remarked distrustfully. "I know we might not have any real evidence, but…" He looked at Ash a little apologetically before continuing. "I saw Misty before the meeting and talked to her for a little while after. She was very, very upset about something… I don't know what it was exactly, but I've never seen her so distraught before… it was really weird. And I have the feeling it had to do with Giovanni being at the meeting."

Ash remembered the few things that Misty had said at the KGLC meeting. It _had_ been strange; she'd seemed to strongly object to Giovanni regaining his license, but then she'd been one of the ones to vote to bring him back.

"Yeah," Ash agreed, "she wasn't acting normal."

Ash jumped as he heard the shrill ringing of his office phone behind him.

"I'll make this fast," he assured Brock, who nodded in understanding.

Picking up the phone and pressing the "TALK" button, Ash answered, "Hello?"

"Ash. How are you? This is Giovanni."

_Speak of the devil,_ Ash thought. Brock gave him a questioning look, as if he already suspected who was on the phone, and Ash confirmed it with a nod.

"Oh… uh, hey," Ash replied, trying to sound casual and friendly. He still wasn't fully convinced that Giovanni was a dishonest person, and he didn't want to burn his bridges with the man just yet. "What's going on?"

"Oh, there is nothing wrong, Ash," Giovanni answered, his voice as smooth as silk. "I just wanted to thank you for bearing with me. I realize I let my temper get the best of me sometimes."

Ash felt a twinge of guilt for being so alarmed by the man's anger. _He just made a mistake, _Ash thought, _and he realizes that._

"Don't worry about it," Ash reassured him, "nobody's perfect."

"Thank you for that," Giovanni said.

There was a pause in the conversation then, where Ash heard silence on the other line. Then, oddly, Ash thought he made out the faint sound of something familiar.

It was barely audible, but unmistakable— the voice of Cameron, the girl who Ash had believed to be his daughter for eight years (and still thought of, to some degree, as his child, even though he now knew that was technically untrue).

"What…" Ash said into the phone incredulously, "is that… _Cameron _I hear?" Brock gave him a questioning look.

"Cameron?" Giovanni questioned, "I'm unsure who that is. You must be hearing my assistant, Dom… I mean, Tulip."

_Tulip? _Ash thought, _that's a really weird name._ And he wasn't completely convinced that Cameron wasn't there— the voice he'd heard had sounded just like hers! Also, he thought he'd heard a little anxiety in Giovanni's voice when he'd told Ash about Tulip. _But Cameron is older now, _Ash rationalized._ I haven't talked to her in a long time. Maybe her voice has changed, and she doesn't even sound like that anymore…_

"Oh," Ash said, still dazed by the prospect of hearing Cameron's voice, "that's so weird. She sounded just like… someone I know."

Giovanni chuckled. "No worries, Ash." Quickly changing the subject, he said, "Anyhow, I am calling to let you know that I am longer going to pursue my gym leader's license."

Ash was shocked. Giovanni had been so fixed on it just hours ago!

"Really?" Ash questioned, failing to keep the inflection of relief out of his tone. "But why?"

"Well, the meeting earlier was my second encounter with the Kanto Gym Leaders Council, and now both of my attempts to cooperate with them have not been fruitful. I now believe that trying to convince them of _anything_ will always result in a proverbial "dead end". It is time for me to move on to something that is a better use of my time."

"Yeah… I guess," Ash said, but he didn't really agree with Giovanni— more than half of the trainers at the meeting had wanted him to have his position back, and surely the National Gym Leaders Council would have returned his license to him. However, Ash wasn't about to tell Giovanni that; after the fiasco at the meeting, Ash was happy to be done working with him.

"Anyway… take care, my friend, and know that if you still desire your Elite Four position back, you will surely find a way to it. You are a remarkable trainer, and a remarkable man."

"Thanks," Ash said indifferently. Giovanni's compliments were always a little unsettling to Ash, but he wasn't sure why.

"Goodbye, Ash."

"Bye."

Ash hung up the phone and looked at Brock.

"What was that all about?" the Pewter gym leader asked.

"Well… it was weird. I guess he's not going to keep trying to get his gym leader's license back after all," Ash explained.

"Huh," Brock remarked, obviously as confused as Ash was. "Well… that's good, I guess."

"Yeah," agreed Ash halfheartedly.

Suddenly, the door swung open, and Olivia appeared.

"Ash, there's—" she started to say a bit anxiously, but then she noticed Brock. "Hi," she said, smiling.

"Hi, yourself," Brock replied, and Ash noticed the blush and the awed, adoring expression on his friend's face. Shaking his head, Ash thought, _some people never change. _

Olivia blushed in return but quickly turned back to Ash. "There's someone here to see you," she explained.

"Uh… okay. Who is it?"

"Umm… it's Misty. She said she wants to talk to you."


	17. Misty's Wrath

Author's Note:

Okay… deep breath… this is a big chapter!

**StarWriterWG: **Friday is here. :) Hopefully this chapter will let a little of the cliffhanger pressure off. I didn't realize there were so many happening at once until you pointed it out (he he)! I guess "Hybrid" is a page-turner… or a screen scroller…

**PikaMewGirl: **Squintycopykittyshipping… your creativity is very impressive. I need to do a search, but I think this may be the only fic out there with hints of Brock/Copycat. That makes a total of three never-before-seen pairings in this story, and you named them all! w00t!

**Brisenberg: **This chapter holds the answer to your question. (Doesn't that sound like it could be the fortune in a Chinese fortune cookie?)

Thanks, everyone, for reviewing! This is the first of six more chapters until The End. As always, enjoy, and R&R.

~TheFrogFromHell

**Chapter 17**

"Make yourself comfortable," said the blonde woman (Cameron realized that she hadn't told them her name), who smiled and giggled a little too sweetly, gesturing to two discolored, unstable-looking chairs.

_Easier said than done, _Cameron thought to herself, examining the sparse furnishings and dreary décor of the Silph Co. "Lounge". She guessed it was supposed to be a place for the workers (if there _were_ any) to take a coffee break; however, the ancient looking coffeemaker and dust-covered surfaces weren't very appealing.

Cameron did not like the way the blonde woman was eyeing Fin, either. _She's practically old enough to be our _mother, _she thought._ Her earlier judgments that the woman was strange had been correct; Cameron raised an eyebrow at the woman's cutesy blonde pigtails and the gaudy pink and black color scheme of her clothing. Her eye makeup was reminiscent of the girls Cameron had seen at the nightclub on the night before her birthday, and Cameron guessed that they had been about half this woman's age.

"So… what did you say your name was?" asked Fin, and Cameron sensed that he felt uncomfortable under her gaze.

"Umm…" Cameron narrowed her eyes. It seemed as if the woman was hesitant to give out her name, which was a red flag. _Something's not right here, _Cameron thought suspiciously. "Uh… Tulip! My name is Tulip!" she laughed awkwardly, and Cameron winced at her shrill tone.

"That's an… unusual name," Fin commented. He looked at Cameron, and, just from reading his expression, she could tell that he was feeling the same way as she was.

"Do you want some coffee?" Tulip exclaimed in an obvious attempt to change the subject.

"Um, actually no… do you think it's safe outside yet? We should really get going," Fin said.

"No," Tulip answered definitively, "they're still out there. The minute you step out that door, they'll attack!"

Subtly, Cameron tried to tap into Tulip's mind again.

LEAVE IT TO ME TO HELP OUT! I'M SUCH A GRACIOUS HOST, DON'T YOU THINK? YOU'RE SAFE HERE. ENJOY YOURSELF. I'M HELPFUL! I'M A GREAT HOST! GO ME! Giovanni, get it together… they're getting antsy… I WONDER IF THEY'D LIKE TEA?

Cameron stood up, and Tulip looked alarmed. _She knows she slipped up, _Cameron figured. Cameron hadn't heard the name "Giovanni" for a long time, but she hadn't forgotten it. Suddenly, her memories from the kidnapping nine years ago seemed like they'd just happened yesterday.

_Fin, we need to get out of here _now_,_ she communicated telepathically.

_I had a feeling something was wrong, _Fin answered.

_Run for it!_

The two sprang up from their chairs, making a beeline for the door. Cameron desperately jiggled the knob, but the door was locked from the outside. _Damn it,_ she thought as the truth dawned on her. _This was a trap all along! _

But it wasn't over yet. Cameron could still unlock the door.

She invoked her psychic powers, focusing on the lock and attempting to mentally manipulate its internal parts. The knob glowed blue, and, as soon as the lock clicked, Fin flung the door open telekinetically.

Cameron gasped in surprise when an enormous Persian was revealed on the outside of the door. Its slanted feline eyes flashed at her and Fin, and it emitted a feral growl from low in its throat. Something about its gaze was terrifyingly familiar…

Behind them, Tulip laughed cruelly. "You didn't think it would be that easy, did you?" she taunted, and Cameron heard an unfamiliar mechanical, rapid ticking noise. Immediately, she shrieked as she was gripped by the most intense headache she had ever experienced. In the background, she was faintly aware of Fin screaming as well, which told her he too was affected.

She tried to keep moving forward, but the pain was just too great. Although it had begun in her head, it seemed to be spreading throughout her body, weakening her dramatically.

From somewhere close by, she heard a chuckle. Turning her head painfully, she was able to make out the silhouette of a man in a wheelchair before her vision went dark.

…

Being in a room with Ash and Brock seemed completely surreal. If it hadn't been for the changes in their appearances that growing older had brought on, this could have been a flashback to seventeen years ago.

Misty's hands were shaking, and she was so nervous she couldn't think straight.

_I came here for a reason, _Misty thought, trying to calm herself down. _I have to talk to Ash. It's the right thing to do._

Had Misty not felt so distraught, the dumfounded expression on Ash's face would have been almost comical.

After what seemed like hours of uncomfortable silence, Ash questioned, "Misty… what are you doing here?"

Brock quietly watched the two of them, not saying a word. _This must be really awkward for him, _Misty realized. Had she been in Brock's position, she would not have wanted to witness her reunion with her ex husband.

Misty swallowed, attempting to keep her voice composed and reasonable. "I came here because I need to tell you something important, and I'm the only one who knows about it."

Ash nodded, still appearing bewildered. Glancing at Brock and then back at Misty, he said, "Is it something… private?"

Misty rolled her eyes. Subtlety was something Ash had never excelled at, though his question was legitimate. Misty thought for a moment about her encounter with Brock earlier. She'd felt so guilty, as if, over the years, she'd transformed into this warped version of herself who had so much to hide, while Brock had remained the same. And despite that, Brock still genuinely cared about her.

"No," Misty replied with certainty, "this is something that Brock needs to hear, too."

Ash nodded again. "Okay," he said, "well… what is it?"

Although Ash seemed to be accommodating Misty (and she hadn't even been sure he would do that), she also sensed inflections of irritation and resentment in his tone. _He's never really forgiven me,_ Misty knew, and, while that was unsurprising, it still saddened her.

"It's about Giovanni," Misty began. She knew if she didn't say all she needed to say quickly, she would lose her resolve.

Ash gasped and declared, "I knew it! There was something going on between you and him at that meeting!"

For some reason, Brock sighed and shook his head.

Misty looked at Ash seriously. "Ash, I'll explain everything in a minute, but the first thing you need to know is that Giovanni is… not a good man. You need to stay away from him. Cut off all contact with him as soon as you can."

"I knew there was something strange about that guy," Brock said, and Misty nodded solemnly.

"Just wait a second," Ash objected. "First of all, what do you even know about Giovanni? You've never said anything about him to me before. And second, why should I trust you? You lied to me for eight years!"

Brock looked uneasy, and Misty felt guilty that he had to witness this aspect of her and Ash's relationship. _This is exactly what I was afraid would happen,_ she thought. She had been worried that Ash's anger over their failed marriage would cloud his judgment about Giovanni.

"Ash, I am sorry that I lied to you. But right now, it's extremely important that you listen to me. For our sake and for Cameron's sake."

Ash was silent, and Misty took that as permission to continue.

"Nine years ago, when Cameron and I were kidnapped by Team Rocket, we were taken to Cinnabar Island Lab," she explained.

A look of clarity came over Brock's face. "That's the place where that illegal "experiment" was performed!" he exclaimed.

Ash still looked confused, scratching his head.

Misty nodded. "Yes, the experiment that Giovanni was a part of." She couldn't keep the bitterness out of her voice as she continued, "and let me get this straight— Giovanni was not an innocent, unwilling participant during this whole thing, like he says he was. He was in charge of the entire operation. _He _was behind the kidnapping of my daughter and me, as well as the torture of two pokemon."

Ash and Brock widened their eyes in shock. "Is that really true, Misty?" Brock questioned incredulously.

"Yes," Misty confirmed. "Even if he doesn't seem like it now, Giovanni is the type of person that will kidnap and torture people for his own selfish reasons. He wants you to think that he's just a poor, innocent, handicapped old man, but let me tell you this— it's his own fault he's disabled, and his own fault he doesn't have a gym leader's license anymore!"

Misty stopped and realized that her conversational, mild tone of voice had escalated to a furious roar.

After a long and pregnant pause in the conversation, Ash finally responded, "Okay. Let's say I believe you. But this is what I don't get: if Giovanni was behind everything, then why isn't he in jail? Why did you keep all this a secret, even during the meeting earlier today? I mean, you voted for him to have his license back, Misty!"

Brock and Ash stared at her intensely, both eagerly awaiting her response. Misty took a deep breath. _This is the hard part,_ she thought to herself, knowing that she would have to explain everything to Brock.

"Because…" Misty began, her heart racing, "because he said that if I testified against him, he would tell the police, the KGLC, and god knows who else about me and… Mewtwo."

"_What?_" exclaimed Brock, "Mewtwo?"

"So, you were so ashamed of it that you didn't want anyone to know you were together, so you decided to keep a criminal out of jail to stop people from finding out?" questioned Ash sardonically.

That comment infuriated Misty. "It's not like that!" she argued. "If the police had found out about _him_, they might have wanted him destroyed!"

"Does someone want to explain to me how Mewtwo has _anything_ to do with this situation?" Brock interjected, but he was ignored.

"As it should have been," Ash remarked coldly.

Unable to control her rage, Misty raised a hand to slap Ash across the face. Ash flinched as Brock snatched her wrist in the nick of time.

"Guys, calm down!" he yelled. "This sounds like a very complicated situation that needs to be fixed, but violence isn't going to help with anything." He peered at Misty sternly with his narrow, dark eyes. "First of all, can somebody _please_ explain to me what is going on?"

Again, Misty inhaled deeply before beginning her convoluted, lengthy explanation.

…

Cameron's temples throbbed as the world began to fade back into focus. It was dark where she was, but with her excellent vision she could determine that she was in a room with dirty yellow walls. _Silph Co.,_ she remembered with loathing. She couldn't quite believe she had ended up here; it had been so obvious there was something wrong with that blonde woman; why hadn't Cameron trusted her instincts?

_Too late now, _she thought regretfully.

_Cameron,_ she heard in her mind, _Cameron, are you okay? _It was Fin using telepathy. Because of the faintness of his projection, Cameron sensed he was far away from her, like on the other side of the building. Cameron could understand his message easily, but, when she tried to answer, she just felt a searing pain in her head. _Something is stopping me from using my powers, _she realized.

_Cameron? _Fin called again, more urgently this time. Cameron would have given anything to be able to answer him, but the agony was too intense to ignore.

She tried to move her body and found that she was restrained. Metal cuffs encircled her wrists, ankles, chest, and hips. Had she been able to use telekinesis, she could have easily bent the restraints in order to escape, but, for now, she was stuck.

The lights in the room suddenly switched on, and Cameron jumped in surprise. Now that her surroundings were illuminated, she noticed a few shapes she'd been unable to make out in the dark.

Two enormous, identical tubular machines stood several feet away from each other. To Cameron's left was an old, outdated looking computer. When the lights had come on, the computer screen had simultaneously lit up, and the screen now read "PROGRAM LOADING". After a few minutes, it beeped, and the caption changed to "SETUP COMPLETE. RUN PROGRAM?"

Cameron's heart raced as she heard a door opening somewhere to her right.

"Who's there?" she questioned frantically. Her voice had a weak, raspy quality to it, which told Cameron that she had been unconscious for quite some time.

"Guess who," replied a man's voice. Cameron did not need to "guess"; she would know that voice anywhere.

"Giovanni," Cameron stated as the man wheeled himself nearer to her, and she could see him in her peripheral vision.

"Ah, so you remember," the man commented with a falsely cheerful tenor. "It has been so long since we met briefly on Cinnabar Island that I thought perhaps you would have forgotten."

"No," Cameron said sarcastically, raising her voice. "I definitely remember the psychopath who kidnapped my mother and me and practically killed my father. That's not the kind of thing someone forgets."

Giovanni was now just a few feet from Cameron, so she could see him clearly. The fluorescent lights in the room accentuated his features, and his creased, heavy brow cast shadows over the rest of his face. His eyes flashed predatorily, and the corners of his lips curled up into a cruel smile.

"No," he said, "I suppose it isn't."

Angrily, Cameron exclaimed, "why are you holding me here? Is this some kind of plot to lure my dad to Silph and capture him? Because you tried that before— actually, twice before, I've heard— and you failed. You know, they say "try, try again", but honestly, I think you should just give it up."

Giovanni laughed, and Cameron struggled against her restraints again, but to no avail.

"Being Mewtwo's daughter, I thought capturing and containing you might pose somewhat of a challenge to me. However, I was incorrect. Unlike your father, you are arrogant and childish, and those qualities inhibit you. I now see that carrying out my plan will be much simpler than I imagined."

"What plan?" Cameron shouted at him furiously, "what's simple?"

Giovanni frowned. "Calm down," he scolded. "All will become clear soon enough."

…

Mewtwo leapt into the air to dodge yet another Hyper Beam attack from the clone gyarados. He had now been battling the pokemon for over two hours, and, as much as he didn't want to admit it, he was beginning to tire. His HP had not been lowered by much, but he was running out of PP for his moves, which could prove to be his downfall. He'd used Amnesia as many times as possible to further increase the power of his Psychic attack, but he only had a few of those left. Also, Amnesia did nothing to protect him from normal-type attacks (which the clones had quickly figured out), and Mewtwo's PP for Barrier was running low.

The weakest of the clones had fainted during the first hour of the battle, but that had been only a few of them. Half a dozen clones were still battling with half HP or less left at this point, and another dozen were still going strong, at near full health. Each one alone was much weaker than Mewtwo, but, together, they were a force to be reckoned with. For one thing, since there were over a dozen times as many of them, they had over a dozen times as many attacks to use.

For the first time, Mewtwo regretted creating these clones with superior abilities. At the time, he'd never thought that enhancing their strength would come back to haunt him, but now he realized he'd made a grave mistake. _Beings with such power can never be controlled,_ he now knew, thinking of his younger self and of how stupid he had been to manufacture others like him.

As if it had read his mind, the clone Golduck said, "If you continue to fight, you will fail against us. Surrender the hybrid creature, and we will stop the battle. Refuse to surrender, and we will continue until you are destroyed."

_I will die before I allow you to harm my child,_ Mewtwo responded furiously and unleashed another huge wave of psychic energy. Two clones that had only had a few HP left—Sandslash and Wigglytuff— fainted, but the strongest- Blastoise, Charizard, Pidgeot, Pikachu, Rapidash, and Golduck, all at level 100— were able to evade the attack (or, they evaded all but a tiny portion of the attack, so they were not greatly affected).

Mewtwo would continue to fight for his daughter's life for as long as he could, but even he could not keep this up indefinitely…


	18. Rocket's Secret Experiment

****Author's Note:

Sorry guys, I'm short on time again this morning, so this will be a brief note. Thank you **StarWriterWG **and **Brisenberg **for reviewing, and many thanks to all who favorited this week. As for the chapter... well, you decide. It's got a whole lot going on.

Happy Thanksgiving!

~TheFrogFromHell

**Chapter 18**

Cameron watched in horror as Tulip entered the room, and she and Giovanni began arranging and connecting various wires surrounding the two tubular machines. Tulip completely ignored Cameron, her fake smile and girlish giggles now replaced with an unfeeling gaze and a methodical demeanor. It was as if restraining and torturing people were just part of everyday business for her. _They probably are, literally, since she works for Giovanni,_ Cameron thought.

"Hey," Cameron yelled, struggling in her restraints again, "you said "everything will become clear" about a hundred years ago, and I'm still in the dark here. Can one of you idiots tell me what the _hell_ is happening right now?"

"Shut up, you stupid girl," snapped Tulip. Cameron liked her less and less every second, and she hadn't held a very high opinion of the blond in the first place.

"Manners, Domino," Giovanni said smoothly, which elicited a scoff from his assistant. _Domino? _Cameron questioned internally, confused. What was this lady's real name, anyway?

Instead of answering Cameron's question like she had hoped he would, Giovanni began telling a seemingly unrelated story.

"Eighteen years ago, an ingenious inventor, Bill Maxwell, created the first Pokemon Teleportation System. It was an incredible feat for the time. Upon testing, the system proved to work perfectly, until, one day, a freak accident accidentally combined Bill's DNA with a pokemon's."

Cameron didn't know where Giovanni was going with this story, and she wasn't sure she wanted to. "I didn't ask for a history lesson," she complained. "Just get to the point, already!"

"Patience is a virtue that seems to have escaped you," Giovanni retorted, threatening Cameron with his cold stare.

As he connected a thick, red wire to the back of one of the machines, the ex Team Rocket leader continued. "I am unsure how such an unusual problem was resolved, but, when it was, Bill determined he had invented something even more valuable than the Teleportation System. He was the first to ever successfully combine pokemon and human DNA."

Suddenly, Cameron became aware of all the directions this conversation could go, and all of them were equally appalling.

"After that, Bill invented a series of equipment designed with the sole purpose of separating and recombining genetic material. The machines' popularity skyrocketed among scientists and researchers, and some wealthy pokemaniacs even managed to get their hands on these amazing contraptions." He looked at Cameron hungrily. "Myself… I am fortunate to have one right here in this building."

At that point, Cameron was fully conscious of what Giovanni was planning, and it was so disgusting, so twisted, that she wished she was still clueless.

The man grinned excitedly. "I thought today would be a perfect day to try an experiment."

…

Ash and Brock stood in silence. Ash tried to decipher what Brock was feeling based on his expression, but it was hard to read.

The Pewter gym leader cleared his throat and said, "So… I just have to make sure I understand this. Mewtwo was in Ash's body when you guys… well, you know… and that's why Cameron looks so much like Ash?"

"Right," Misty confirmed. For the first time, Ash regretted that he had not stayed longer at the house when Misty had tried to explain everything to him the first time. He'd never thought that Mewtwo could have turned into a human. He'd just been so furious over the whole situation...

"And, um…" Ash asked tentatively, "Is Mewtwo still in my body now?" The concept was just too bizarre for Ash to fully comprehend.

"No," Misty explained, shaking her head. "It was only that one time, since he had to use a sample of DNA that he already had. Now he… has a special human form."

"Michael," Brock gasped. Misty nodded. _Michael? _Ash wondered, _was that who I saw at Misty's house that one night? _He remembered the man's agile, precise movements and his intense gaze, and it dawned on Ash that the man had behaved _exactly_ like a human version of Mewtwo. _That's why he seemed so familiar,_ Ash realized in amazement.

Brock sighed. Turning to Misty, he said, "Well, I have to admit, this is a lot to wrap my head around. I mean, it's hard to believe that Michael is Mewtwo, and that you're actually dating… a pokemon."

Misty's face flushed, and she looked away.

"But," Brock continued, "I'm not mad at you or anything. And I kind of understand what it must have been like to be stuck on that island for so long with no one but Mewtwo. Especially if he changed into Ash… that's just… such a weird situation. I'm so sorry that we didn't protect you, Misty."

Misty nodded sincerely, her eyes tearing up. "I… loved him then," she said softly, "and I still do, but… I miss you, Brock!"

To Ash's shock, she turned to Ash and cried just as earnestly, "and you too, Ash! I miss the way things used to be, when the three of us spent so much time together. As much as I love Michael… Mewtwo… he just doesn't understand! For the last nine years, I've just felt so alone. And it's even worse now, since Cameron is gone."

Brock hugged Misty, and she no longer attempted to hold back her sobs. Misty's words saddened Ash as well— over the years, he'd pictured her having this perfect life with her daughter and new boyfriend (or… pokemon friend), and he now knew how absurdly inaccurate that was.

However, Misty's statement had introduced a question that Ash needed to have answered. "What do you mean Cameron is gone?" Ash inquired.

Misty and Brock separated, Misty rubbing her eyes. "Well, she left on her pokemon journey a couple of months ago, but her psychic powers got totally out of control. She was using them to help her win battles, and other things like that. Mewtwo and I didn't want that to continue, so Mewtwo left her with Sabrina, the Saffron Gym Leader, for training."

Ash nodded, but something was still bothering him. "So… she's with Sabrina right now?"

"I guess so," Misty answered, giving Ash a questioning look. "I mean, that's where she should be. Mewtwo told me she's not supposed to leave the Saffron Gym until she's completed her training. Why?"

"Well, this might be nothing," Ash said, though his instincts were telling him it was definitely _something_, "but Giovanni called me a few minutes ago— right before you got here, actually— and I could have sworn I heard Cameron's voice on the other end of the line."

Misty froze.

"You don't think…?" Brock murmured.

"Oh my god," Misty whispered, her face pale, "we have to get to Saffron City _now_."

…

"You can't do this," Cameron cried, "it's… disgusting! Do you even understand what you're doing? You don't want this. You don't want to be like me, in between human and pokemon… My life has been hell because of it."

But they were empty words. _She is just afraid, _Giovanni reasoned. _She has led a blessed life since birth. With her awesome power, she could have ruled the world, like I plan to do, once I have incorporated portions of her DNA into mine._

The machines began to rumble, and Domino began wheeling Cameron's hospital bed over to one of them. The girl struggled, but, in her state of weakness, it was no use against the metal wires restraining her. Giovanni smirked. _Soon, I will be as powerful as Mewtwo,_ he thought eagerly.

While Cameron had been unconscious, he had analyzed her DNA, pinpointing the portions that deviated from a normal human's. Once Cameron and Giovanni were inside Bill's machine, which Giovanni had mechanically enhanced himself, restriction enzymes would cleave away the pieces of DNA in Cameron's cells' nuclei that corresponded to her psychic abilities. Subsequently, segments of Giovanni's DNA would be broken so that Cameron's special DNA sequences could be incorporated into his own. There was a small risk in this, considering that Giovanni's DNA would be rendered unstable, but this would only last for a fraction of a second before enzymes stitched the fragments together, incorporating the new genetic material.

As far as what was to become of Cameron, Giovanni was unsure. It was possible she could lose brain function, or even die. _She was never meant to be born in the first place, _Giovanni had decided, justifying his actions to himself. _And if she lives, leaving her damaged will insure that she cannot interfere with my plans in the future._

Domino pressed a button on the bottom of the hospital bed, and Cameron's restraints were released. Immediately, the girl sprung up in an attempt to escape, but Domino reactivated the electromagnetic device that interfered with Cameron's psychic brainwaves. Since using it on Mewtwo nine years ago, Giovanni had revamped and supercharged the device so that it would render a psychic pokemon (or, in this case, a psychic hybrid) completely helpless. Cameron screamed in agony, and, from the cruel, sadistic smirk on Domino's face, Giovanni could see that his assistant was thoroughly enjoying using the tool.

Finally, after moving as slowly as possible (to prolong Cameron's suffering, Giovanni guessed), Domino transferred the girl into the tubular structure and closed the door. Cameron's terrified, muffled screams were audible until the sedative calmed and quieted her.

Switching off the device, Domino turned to Giovanni. The amused expression faded from her features, and it was replaced by almost unrecognizable concern.

"Your turn," she said, eyeing the other end of the machine.

"Indeed."

Domino paused, pursing her lips as if she wanted to say something very badly, but knew she shouldn't.

_Domino has never been one to keep her mouth shut, _Giovanni knew all too well. "Out with it," he told her reluctantly, granting her the rare permission to speak freely.

"Boss, I don't think this is a good idea," she cried immediately. "This DNA stuff… it's gross and weird, and it sounds dangerous. And… as much as I don't want to admit it, Cameron had a point— do you really want to be like Mewtwo? A _freak_?"

Her eyes looked cloudy. Was she actually about to _cry?_

"Your concerns are noted," Giovanni replied coldly. "However, I will proceed with my plan. You have always been so narrow-minded, Domino— it was one of your flaws as a Team Rocket officer, and, unfortunately, it still inhibits you now. This procedure is the only way to regain all we have lost. We will have wealth and prestige once again. We will rebuild Team Rocket even better and stronger than before. Together, we will conquer the world!"

He shook his head disgustedly. "If only you had the capacity to think about anything but yourself."

He turned his back to her, wheeling himself toward the machine. _Once I have gained Cameron's psychic abilities, I will be able to heal my damaged spinal tissue and walk again, _he thought. _No longer shall I be feeble and powerless. No longer will my own incompetence disgust me._

"It is time to begin the procedure," he stated.

…

Cameron's screams went unheard (or, perhaps, simply ignored) as she struggled pointlessly against her restraints. _I'm probably going to die right here in this machine, _she realized. To her horror, the machine began to fill with some kind of fluid. It was warm; the same temperature as her body. She felt the sting of a needle penetrating her skin, and an artificial calm flooded her awareness.

_A sedative, _Cameron thought as she struggled to stay conscious. Allowing the warm, serene feeling of the drug to overtake her was tempting, but she knew that if she let it, she might never wake up again.

Her thoughts grew more and more outlandish and incomprehensible, and her body began to feel weightless, as if she was a fluffy cloud floating in the sky. Her mother, Misty, and her father, Mewtwo, entered her mind, and she hoped they weren't worried about her. Ash, Fin, and Sabrina appeared as well, and she waved hello, missing them.

_Cameron,_ she heard a voice in the distance say, _just hold on… we're coming for you._

She recognized the voice as Fin's. _But that's silly, _she thought, laughing, _you're already here! _She thought about all of her pokemon, wondering how they were doing, and they all appeared around her, dancing around in her mind as if they were in a ballet. Giggling and relaxing a little more, she thought, _maybe this isn't the worst way to go. I've got all my friends and family with me… Mom, Dad, Fin, Mew, Vaporeon, Haunter, Jigglypuff…_

In the back of her mind, Cameron became aware of another uncomfortable prick. _Ouch, _she objected, _that's not very nice… interrupting me during such a good show…_

Abruptly, everything began to change. A dark, painful reality sliced through her nice, cozy dream, and the agony she had felt before (and now remembered) returned at full force. _I have to get out of here,_ she thought, panicked.

Somehow, she felt stronger again, and she shoved her body forward against the thick metal wires that restrained her. She heard them creak and realized that they were flimsier than she'd originally thought. Oddly, the pain in her head began to fade, and she thrust her body forward and back so forcefully that the machine itself rocked a little. Unfortunately, at the same time, the oxygen tube that had been inserted in her nose while she was sedated had slipped out, and now she was unable to breath.

Desperately, she continued to rock the machine as hard as she could, but it was still far from tipping over and allowing her to escape. She was running out of oxygen in her lungs, and her attempts slowly diminished in strength. _This is it, _she conceded, _this is the end._

Little black spots dotted her vision, growing larger and larger, until…

Suddenly, the machine's door was violently flung open, and the warm fluid poured out onto the floor. Cameron thought she glimpsed the faces of her mother, Fin, Ash, and a man she didn't recognize before losing consciousness…

…

Ash felt his anger flooding his veins like it was hot poison. As he, Misty, Fin, and Brock knelt around Cameron, who lay motionless on the floor, he thought, _I trusted Giovanni. I tried to help him. I thought he was my friend, and this is what happens. _Tears threatened to escape the corners of Ash's brown eyes, but he fought them. He had to stay strong now— they may have found Cameron, but the fight wasn't over.

"She's alive," Misty said softly after feeling her daughter's neck for a pulse. Ash was overcome with relief; Cameron did not look well, so he had been immensely worried.

She was soaking wet, wearing only a thin hospital gown, and her dark hair was plastered to her face by the clear, viscous fluid that had escaped from the machine. Ash guessed that she had been in some kind of operating tank. _He tried to perform surgery on her, _Ash thought in revulsion. _It's a good thing we got here when we did…_

They had only reached her in time because of Fin, Cameron's new friend from the Saffron City gym. He had been stowed away in a back room, able to hear Cameron's thoughts but unable to intervene in Giovanni's twisted plot. Fin had heard (or, perhaps, sensed) that Ash, Misty, and Brock had entered the building, and he had communicated his location to them. He had been locked inside a room with a special device that could resist psychic manipulation, but, fortunately for Ash, Misty, and Brock, it had only been impenetrable from the inside— one electric shock from Pikachu, and the door had opened.

Ash smiled at the blond teenager, who held a somber, contemplative expression on his face. "Thanks for your help," he said for about the fiftieth time.

"No problem," Fin said, returning Ash's smile for a fleeting moment. "I'm just glad she's going to be okay."

"Yeah," agreed Ash.

But Fin's smile faded, and, again, he did not look entirely overjoyed, which confused Ash. "What's wrong?" he inquired.

Fin sighed. "Well… I'm confused, I guess," he said. "Earlier, I sensed Cameron's psychic signature— or, at least, one that seemed identical to hers— and in it, there was this intense fear and… desperation. I figured that if I could save Cameron, her signature would calm down, and I would stop sensing it."

"Errr… right," Ash said, nodding. He didn't really understand all this psychic stuff, but what Fin was saying made sense. _I guess psychics are really in tune with each other's emotions, _Ash thought. _Kind of like me and pikachu. _He looked at his yellow mouse pokemon, who was crouching next to him, and smiled.

"Chu," Pikachu stated, grinning back.

"But the thing is," Fin continued, "that even though Cameron is unconscious, I'm still picking up the signature from somewhere. Maybe I'm just going crazy, but… it feels just like Cameron's! I don't get it!"

Misty looked at Fin in alarm. "It could be Mewtwo's," she said aloud, "I hope he's okay!"

"We should get out of here," Brock suggested. "We need to get Cameron to a hospital, and who knows how long it is before Giovanni comes back…"

"He won't be coming back," came a soft, yet ominous voice from across the room.

Ash and his companions turned their heads to see a blonde woman— Giovanni's assistant, Ash figured— standing in front of the other half of the machine, which appeared almost identical to the one they had rescued Cameron from. The machine's door was open, and the blond woman's gaze was fixed on whatever was inside.

The haunted, anguished expression that crossed her pretty facial features told Ash that whatever it was, he was fortunate not to have seen it.

"Giovanni's never coming back," she said again tentatively, as if she couldn't quite believe it herself. "He's… dead."


	19. Minion of Team Rocket

**Chapter 19**

A silence that seemed to last for an eternity fell over the room. Misty stared at the blond woman standing by the machine, knowing that she was a minion of Team Rocket, yet floored by the humanity of the woman's obvious devastation. _For whatever reason… this woman really cared about Giovanni, _Misty knew, unable to comprehend how anyone could ever have compassion for such a contemptible man.

Misty looked again at her daughter lying helpless on the floor, and, somewhere inside her, her anger surged. However, at the moment, she was overcome with numbness; anesthetized, and aware of the puzzling discontinuity between her strange emotions and the reality of the situation.

"Giovanni... Dead," Misty repeated to herself softly. _I should be relieved… I should be happy about this_. But instead, she didn't know what she was feeling.

Misty gasped as Cameron began to stir.

"She's waking up," Ash commented anxiously, stating the obvious.

"We're here for you, honey," Misty whispered to her daughter.

Slowly, the girl opened her bright, violet eyes, studying the faces that surrounded her.

"Cameron," Fin said breathlessly, gazing at Cameron wide-eyed. "I'm so glad you're… I mean, when I stopped being able to understand your thoughts, I figured you were…"

Despite herself, Misty smiled at the boy's ineloquent admissions. It seemed that, perhaps, Fin cared for her daughter as more than a friend, and Misty did not mind that at all.

"Fin… shut up. I'm fine, okay?" But Cameron's tone was teasing, and she smiled warmly at him as he hugged her delicately.

In stark contrast to the joyful reunion of Cameron and Fin, Ash, though Misty knew he was relieved that Cameron was safe, held a dark, furious expression on his youthful features.

"That bastard deserved to die," he stated, and Misty didn't think she'd ever heard so much hatred in his voice before. "He acted like he was my friend, always telling me how great I was and everything, but behind the scenes, he was planning some sick experiment to perform on my dau…" he caught himself just in time, and, somehow, that made Misty very sad. "…Cameron," he finished.

"STOP."

Misty whirled her head around to see the blond woman advancing toward them.

Her face was red with fury, and her blue eyes were so cold that Misty felt a chill run down her spine. Somehow, the woman's anger made her seem bigger, taller than she was in actuality, and she appeared to loom over Misty, Ash, and the others menacingly.

"Not another word about Giovanni," she uttered lowly.

"Yeah, right!" Ash spat, standing up to face her, "your boss was a dirty liar, and a—"

"Shut _up,_ Ash!" Misty screamed, closing her eyes and feeling her cheeks grow hot and her heart begin to pound.

"Pika," said Pikachu softly, and Misty realized she had forgotten the pokemon was there.

When she opened her eyes, she saw Brock, Fin, Cameron, and Ash all staring at her with mystified expressions.

"Let's get out of here," Misty said, eyeing the blond woman, who was looking into her eyes intently, and, strangely, Misty knew that, in this very small way, they understood each other.

Misty stood up and began to advance toward the door. "Guys, help Cameron get up, and then we're going."

"But…" Ash said, eyeing the blond woman. Fin put Cameron's arm over his shoulder, helping her to stand up and steadying her as they walked.

Brock saw Misty's serious expression and said to Ash, "we'll talk about this later. We have to go."

Unsatisfied, Ash complied reluctantly, following Misty, Fin, Cameron, and Brock out of the door. On the way out, they passed by a lean, elegant Persian, but the cat simply gazed at them warily, declining to attack. Pikachu's cheeks buzzed with electricity in preparation for a battle, but it too bypassed the pokemon peacefully.

"Should we call the cops?" Brock whispered to Misty just before they exited the building.

"Yes," she answered, "but that woman will be gone before they get here."

Brock dialed a number on his phone and held it to his ear, but, after a few moments, he shook his head, perplexed. "Weird," he commented, "there was no answer at the Saffron Police Department. It seems like they should be answering their phones…" he looked at Misty's daughter, and, concerned, he asked, "How are you holding up, Cameron?" The small girl seemed to be doing fairly well, with Fin's help. However, she kept grimacing in pain, and Misty wondered what could be bothering her so much. She didn't appear to have obtained any injuries from the machine…

"Okay," Cameron answered, wincing again. "My head hurts… they did something to me in there, using this weird device. Now, it feels like there's something inside me preventing me from using my psychic powers…"

Fin furrowed his brow, appearing confused. "That's odd," he commented. "I'm psychic too, but my powers seem to be working fine. I was able to hear all your thoughts from the other room, and I'm still sensing that weird psychic signature now…"

Misty thought of something, something that she remembered from years and years ago.

"Psychic _pokemon_," she stated aloud. Ash, Brock, and Fin looked at her inquisitively. "Nine years ago, when Giovanni kidnapped Cameron and me, he said that his assistant…" she tried to remember the name he'd used. "… Domino," she declared, and wondered if that had been who the blond woman was. _I guess I'll never know now, _she thought. "Domino had used some kind of device on Mewtwo to weaken his powers. Maybe it's the same one he just used on you, Cameron. If so… we had to take Mewtwo to a pokemon center, and, when he got out, his powers had returned." Misty looked at Fin. "Maybe the device didn't work on you since you have human psychic powers, not pokemon ones."

Cameron nodded. "I remember that, now," she said. "Mewtwo was so weak during that battle, and then Giovanni explained everything."

Misty noticed that Ash looked very uneasy, and Brock gazed at him concernedly, laying a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"So… maybe Cameron needs… a pokemon center?" Fin questioned skeptically. Misty realized that it was probably very strange to him that Cameron, who looked so human, could be part pokemon.

"Well, I'm not positive, but it's probably worth a try," Misty answered.

"I'll take her," Fin said decidedly, and Misty smiled at him.

"Thank you," she said graciously.

"Just… one thing before we go," Fin interjected, and Misty nodded, encouraging him to continue. "I'm still sensing that psychic signature… it's getting stronger. Actually, it's kind of scaring me. Whoever it is, I think he or she is in trouble. It seems to be coming from the edge of town, near Route 8. Can you guys go over and check it out?"

"Sure," Brock replied. He turned to Ash and Misty and added, "We should bring our pokemon, just in case."

"Okay," Fin said, "thanks. If everything is okay at the pokemon center, I'll come back and help, too." He smiled again, and, hoisting Cameron up on his back, he began running in the direction of the center.

"I can walk, you know," Misty heard Cameron say as the two moved forward.

"Yeah, but not as fast as I can run," was Fin's reply.

Misty chuckled, amused for a moment, but her thoughts quickly returned to the more serious matter at hand. _I hope Mewtwo is okay,_ she thought. She greatly regretted their argument earlier. Although there was little she could have done to prevent it, she still felt responsible somehow.

Thankfully, Misty always carried her pokemon with her, so she felt prepared for a battle if one happened to arise, though she hoped that wasn't the case.

"Are you guys ready to go see what the trouble is?" she asked Ash and Brock.

"Yep," said Brock, "I've got all my rock-type pokemon ready to go!"

"Me too," confirmed Ash. Misty smiled at her friends, and she almost felt how she used to feel almost twenty years ago, when the three of them traveled together. _This is how it's _supposed_ to be_, she couldn't help thinking.

"Let's go!" she declared.

…

_Just do it, _Domino thought to herself. _You're tough. You've dealt with worse than this. Do it._

Cursing, she slammed the door of the machine shut again, shielding herself from the lifeless body of her former boss.

_The cops will be here soon, _she knew, _I have to get him out _now_! _

But she couldn't look at him. She just couldn't.

It would be one thing if Giovanni's body still looked like Giovanni; if it was simply a cold, still version of the man she had known.

She envied the friends and families of other corpses— embalmed, beautified, idealistic versions of the people they'd loved, made up and perfected so their last encounter with the deceased would be as painless as possible.

But Giovanni's death had not been painless, and the appearance of his body reflected that.

Domino had a couple of theories as to why Giovanni had passed away inside the machine; why his ingenious scheme had failed so horribly. The one she believed was closest to the truth was this: Domino knew from operating the system that the machine had been built to recognize pokemon DNA (and in this case, it had been fine tuned to specifically select _psychic_ pokemon DNA). However, when Domino had activated the electromagnetic device that had so conveniently thwarted Cameron's attempts to use her powers, it had rendered the pieces of her DNA that corresponded to her psychic abilities useless. Giovanni had once told Domino that psychic powers were really just internal electric impulses directed outward, but Domino guessed that if those impulses were dammed, the DNA would not appear any different than normal human (or pokemon) genetic information. Therefore, the machine was unable to recognize Cameron's DNA as being unusual. Giovanni's DNA was ripped apart in preparation for the addition of new material, but none of Cameron's was removed or transferred over to his end of the machine, so he died because of the instability of his own DNA.

In other words, Domino had killed her boss by activating the very device that he had invented for her to use.

Unable to control them any longer, Domino's tears flooded from her eyes, streaming down her face. She inhaled sharply, feeling as if there was a gaping hole in her chest where her heart should have been.

She fell to her knees, sobbing uncontrollably. Never before had her emotions taken over her body like this; it was as if she was possessed.

She heard a low "meow" close by, and, looking up, she noticed Giovanni's persian had come to sit beside her. Scratching behind the cat's ear, she felt oddly comforted. When she peered into the pokemon's eyes, she was overcome by a strange sensation— a sensation of familiarity.

Suddenly, it hit her. _Giovanni had been doing experiments with pokemon in here all by himself, _she remembered. _Maybe… he combined some of his own DNA with this pokemon._

Somehow, she knew she was correct. In particular, the persian's eyes were almost identical to Giovanni's, and its haughty, sly mannerisms were very reminiscent of the ex Team Rocket leader (when he had been able to walk, of course). Now that he was dead, the pokemon's gaze was haunting to Domino, and she had to avert her eyes.

_I have to do this,_ she decided, and, trying to look as little as possible at the mangled, contorted thing that her boss had become, she flung open the machine's door, hoisted Giovanni's body (or, what was left of it) up in her arms, and carried it over to the hospital bed where Cameron had lain, plunking it down and wrapping it up in the bed's sheets.

Blood seeped through the white sheet, and, unable to hold it in, Domino leaned over and vomited on the floor, emptying the contents of her stomach. Giovanni's persian meowed distastefully.

"Shut up," she muttered, wrapping the sheets more tightly around the body and beginning to wheel the bed towards the door. "You always told me what to do, Giovanni. You never liked any of my ideas. You never gave a _shit_ about me!" she screamed as she exited the room, guiding the hospital bed down the hall toward the elevator. _I'll move the body downstairs, and then into the… damn it!_

She had nearly forgotten about her encounter with the cloned pokemon earlier. Her car had been engulfed by Charizard's powerful fire attack, and there was no way the engine would start without some serious repairs.

Domino had an idea, but she had to hurry. She left the body in front of the elevator and took off, sprinting down the hall past the lab towards Giovanni's office.

When she reached the office door, she used her own personal universal card key to let herself in.

There, on Giovanni's writing desk were four masterballs containing Giovanni's other pokemon. She snatched the balls off the mahogany desk, shoving them into the pockets of her pink skirt. _Eww,_ she thought in disgust, _I've got his blood all over me! This is bad… I've got to get home and change. No one can see me like this!_

Domino knew she should just hurry back to the elevator and get this terrible ordeal over with, but, instead, she found herself rummaging around in Giovanni's file cabinets and drawers, grabbing piles of miscellaneous pictures, documents, and trinkets to take with her. When she was finished, the previously neat office appeared as if it had been devastated by a small tornado. _Whatever,_ she thought, _if the cops figure out it's me, I'm already in deep trouble anyway._

Returning to the hospital bed and grimacing at the blood dripping from the soaked sheets, Domino pressed the button for the elevator. When she heard the "ping", signifying that it had arrived, its doors slid open, and Domino struggled to push Giovanni's body into the elevator while her hands were full of his belongings. Persian had remained by Domino's side, and it followed her into the elevator as well.

She programmed the elevator to take her down to the basement, which was a special floor below the main lobby that nobody knew about but her and Giovanni. Now in an enclosed space with her boss's body, Domino recoiled at the prominent stench of blood and death. Had she had anything in her stomach left, she would have vomited again.

When the doors opened, Domino wheeled the body into the small, dimly lit room, and Persian followed. _Here goes,_ Domino thought, preparing to carry out the rest of her plan. It was a gamble whether Giovanni's pokemon would obey her, but she had to try.

She had no idea which pokeball contained which pokemon, so she released them all.

Giovanni's four pokemon (other than Persian, of course, who sat regally by Domino's side) materialized, appearing dazed and confused.

"Nido," commented Nidoking to its queen.

"Queen," the other pokemon replied.

The pokemon stopped short when they noticed the blood-stained bed behind Domino.

"Okay guys," Domino said, trying to keep her voice calm and steady, "something really, really bad has happened. Giovanni is… not alive anymore."

The pokemon all protested, shrieking their names.

"Quiet!" Domino yelled, attempting to muster up some Giovanni-like confidence. To her surprise, the pokemon obliged. "There are people coming… the police… and we can't let them find us, or Giovanni's body. If they do, they will take me to jail, and put you in some pokemon shelter, or worse. So we have to get out of here."

"Rhy," Rhydon grunted solemnly.

Domino surveyed Giovanni's pokemon, who had always intimidated her a bit; they were so huge, and so powerful, and Domino knew exactly what they were capable of from accompanying Giovanni during Team Rocket's missions.

But now, somehow, Domino knew they were on her side. Now that their trainer was gone, they had no one else to turn to.

Once again attempting to emulate Giovanni's air of authority, she turned to Dugtrio and Rhydon.

"Listen," she said, "together, I need you two to dig a long tunnel to someplace far away from here. Dugtrio, you can do the digging, and, Rhydon, you can soften the soil with Horn Drill."

Domino was shocked at her own ingenuity. It had been so long since she'd done anything besides mundane chores for her boss that she'd forgotten she was capable of such things. _Back when I led a sect of Team Rocket, I used to do stuff like this all the time,_ she remembered, feeling nostalgic about that time. _Now that Giovanni is dead… we can never have missions like that again._ Her tears threatened to overtake her again, but this time, she fought them back. She had to stay strong in order for Giovanni's pokemon to accept her as their leader.

"Trio," the pokemon affirmed for both itself and Rhydon.

"There's… one more thing," she continued, her voice wavering despite her best efforts. "We have to get… rid of him." She gestured to the hospital bed behind her. The pokemon stood in silence, somber. "We should… bury him. Underground, somewhere, where the cops won't find him."

"King," Nidoking finally said, and Domino assumed it was agreeing to the task.

Determined again, and trying to ignore the feelings of grief, devastation, and… anger building inside of her, Domino nodded.

"Let's get started," she instructed. "Rhydon, use Horn Drill to drill through the basement floor so Dugtrio can start the digging!"

"Don," the pokemon replied, plunging its spinning horn into the concrete floor and creating a loud, unpleasant sound reminiscent of a jackhammer.

The level of noise made Domino a little nervous. _I hope the cops can't hear that, _she thought.

The hole that Rhydon was creating quickly grew in diameter until it was large enough for all of the pokemon (and, of course, Domino) to fit through. Rhydon stopped drilling and moved aside for Dugtrio, who began to dig. Thankfully, this was much quieter than Rhydon's Horn Drill.

When the hole was deep enough for them to begin their journey, Nidoking carefully retrieved Giovanni's body from the bed. "Nido," it lamented forlornly as it carried the body over to the hole. Once all the pokemon were inside the opening, Rhydon looked to Domino for permission to continue.

"Go ahead," she confirmed, "I'll be right behind you."

Nidoking, Nidoqueen, Rhydon, and Dugtrio slowly disappeared underground, but Persian remained by Domino's side, gazing at her with its dark eyes.

Domino finally set down Giovanni's belongings, spreading them out before her on the floor. She sighed when she saw that the bulk of them were all either pictures and documents related to past missions of Team Rocket, or accounts of various unorthodox Cinnabar Island Lab experiments that Giovanni had funded.

"You were always a workaholic," she commented absentmindedly as she sifted through more papers.

Something caught her eye— a handwritten note.

The paper it was written on was old and crinkled, and the ink was smudged and faded. _Why would Giovanni keep something like this?_ she wondered, mystified.

She gasped when she realized something— the note was in her own handwriting.

Memories flooded back to her. She recalled writing this note to Giovanni, almost twenty years ago now. She'd been barely eighteen years old at the time, naïve to the harsh realities of life, and had just started working at the Pokemon Institute. Back then, she hadn't gone by "Domino", but her real name, Daisy, which she'd always hated.

She'd met Giovanni the day he'd come in to demonstrate ground-type pokemon training techniques for some young trainers visiting the Institute. Domino had happened to pass by on her way to her brand new office, and she had been unable to stop watching him.

The way he'd handled his pokemon had amazed her. He had been an expert in the art of communicating with his pokemon, and his commands and their actions had been flawlessly smooth, perfectly in sync. Domino had owned a few pokemon of her own at the time, and she'd wanted nothing more than to be exactly like Giovanni.

But even then, she had perceived the tiniest indications of his true nature, though she had written them off as figments of her imagination: the subtle snarl Giovanni displayed when a battle move didn't go his way, and the way he avoided the trainers' eyes when they occasionally asked him questions that Domino now knew he had answered with lies.

Intrigued, she had kept tabs on the Viridian City gym leader all day, doing a terrible job at work as a result. Fortunately (or perhaps, in retrospect, _un_fortunately), Domino had finished her shift at the same time that Giovanni had been leaving the Institute, and she had caught up to him and started a conversation.

To Domino's delight, Giovanni had asked her to coffee. At first, she had been flattered, under the impression that this esteemed, attractive older man had asked her on a date. But when she had met him at the coffee shop, it had not gone the way she had expected.

They had talked for over an hour, and all Giovanni had done was ask her a bunch of strange questions. Was she satisfied with her work? What did she want to do with her life? What was her attitude regarding pokemon training?

She'd felt, oddly, as if she was in a job interview, which was closer to the truth than she'd realized at the time.

Then, without forewarning, Giovanni had taken a last, casual sip of coffee and stated, "I am out of time. I must leave now."

Domino had been more than a little irritated, though she'd tried to avoid revealing her feelings to him. _What was the point of that?_ she'd wondered in frustration. She hadn't been expecting to tell her life story to a man she barely knew. She wasn't _that _interesting…

They had stood up from the table, and Domino had followed Giovanni outside sullenly. _Thanks for nothing,_ she thought. The man hadn't even paid for her coffee.

Then, as if in an afterthought, Giovanni had turned back to her before getting into his sleek, black limousine.

"I see potential in you, Daisy," he'd stated, oddly. Domino had been totally confused as to what he had meant.

He'd surveyed their surroundings, subtly but warily, and then, looking into her eyes intensely, he'd said, "If you're interested, come to this address tonight at eleven o'clock. I'll be waiting."

He handed her a glossy, black card with a cryptic, red "R" in the corner. On the back of the card, there was an address, as expected, handwritten in an impeccably neat, tiny print.

_That's awfully late, _Domino had thought at the time, as Giovanni had been taken away in the limousine.

But later, unable to help herself, she had arrived precisely on time anyway.

That night had been her first ever Team Rocket meeting.

It had opened up a new world of possibilities for her, all of which were things she'd never pictured herself being involved in. Lying. Stealing. Exploiting people and pokemon for profits.

But Giovanni had welcomed her graciously at the door, flashing a white, handsome smile and guiding her inside with his hand on the small of her back.

There had been excellent food provided at the meeting, which had been held at Giovanni's estate. Domino was surrounded by beautiful people (later, she had realized that the people she'd met at that first meeting were only Team Rocket's top executives, who were much more clean cut than the grunts who did most of the dirty work, and she wondered if Giovanni had purposefully misled her).

Discussions of the upcoming Team Rocket events, which had included converting Celadon City's Game Corner to a Team Rocket hideout and poaching the wild Kangaskhan in the Safari Zone, had been interspersed with casual, clever and charismatic jokes. Part of Domino had been disturbed by the Rockets and had wanted to leave as soon as she had arrived, but the larger portion of her had been captivated by such an exclusive, talented, and atypical group of people, and had wanted to stay as long as she possibly could.

After that first evening, she had been hooked.

Part of this was truly because of the entire experience, but some of it, she admitted, was because of her growing admiration… and attraction… to Giovanni.

Once again, she felt her tears begin to flow down her cheeks as she read her old note from beginning to end.

_Dear Giovanni,_

_Thank you for last night. I feel like I am learning a lot from you, and I am thrilled that you would ask me to be a part of the Celadon City project._

_I look forward to seeing more of you in the future, for work or otherwise._

_Yours truly,_

_Daisy (The Black Tulip!)_

Domino's entire body trembled as she sobbed._ I'm nothing like that anymore,_ she knew, despising herself for what she had become.

Giovanni's persian purred and rubbed against her affectionately.

_But I was never good enough for him, _she thought, _not then, and not now._

She remembered the night she had first called herself "The Black Tulip". It was one of the only times she and Giovanni had relaxed together, ever. They had been inside Giovanni's office at Viridian Gym shortly after a successful Team Rocket mission, having a few too many glasses of expensive champagne.

"Daisy," Giovanni had commented, stating her name as if it was a figure of speech. Appearing deep in thought, he'd added, "That is a decidedly unthreatening name."

"Well, maybe that's my strategy," Domino had retaliated, though she'd never actually thought about that before. "Maybe I want to seem unthreatening, so people won't suspect me."

"A valid point," Giovanni had replied, smirking at her. It had been the closest he'd ever come to paying her a compliment. "However, I still believe you need an alias that strikes fear into the hearts of our enemies… a name that will fill them with dread at its utterance."

Domino had burst out laughing. "Isn't that a little overly dramatic, boss?"

He'd smiled subtly, taken a sip of champagne, and answered, "I don't think so."

Domino had thought for a moment. "Okay. How about this: The Red Daisy."

It had been Giovanni's turn to laugh, long and hard and unrestrained. It had been so unlike his usual forced, conservative chuckle that, for an instant, Domino had seen a flash of the man he could have been— a charming, funny, and lighthearted gentleman.

"_What?_" Domino had asked, annoyed, though she was laughing with him. "Red is one of Team Rocket's colors!"

"Red isn't nearly intimidating enough. And "Daisy"… it's simply too bright and sunny for a Team Rocket executive!"

"Fine," Domino had pouted. _Well, if it can't be red, I'll choose black._ "Okay, I think I've got it. From here on out, I shall be known as… The Black…" she tried to think of a flower other than a daisy, one that was a little less bright and sunny, "Tulip," she had finished.

Giovanni had appeared to consider it. "Well, it is much preferable to your first suggestion," he had said casually.

Domino had frowned at him. "Hey! I think it's great, okay? The Black Tulip. I like it."

"Suit yourself," he had replied, and Domino had been certain his apparent indifference had just been his way of teasing her.

The next day, Domino had found a surprise on her desk— a bouquet. It had not been accompanied by a card, or any other indication that it had been designated for her. But she had known who it was from when she'd seen the unique flower nestled right in the center— a black tulip.

Upon closer examination, she had found that it was not a real flower at all; it was crafted from some kind of light, sleek metal, and that it could generate electricity, which made it a useful weapon.

She still had the flower, which now sat atop her dresser in her tiny, shabby apartment, accumulating dust.

She read the note another two times over before folding it and sliding it into her pocket.

Giovanni's papers and trinkets that lay scattered around her now seemed to her like the most precious of treasures— she would never let them go.

_I won't forget this, _she thought, feeling a burning, passionate desire for revenge bubbling up inside her, revenge against the people who had driven Giovanni to such extreme, unnatural measures— the Kanto Gym Leaders Council, and the Elite Four.

Looking into Persian's eyes— Giovanni's eyes— she thought, _I won't forget you._

And even though her anger and bitterness over the harsh, ungrateful manner in which Giovanni had treated her over the years remained unresolved; though her revulsion regarding his desperate attempts to regain power still gripped her, she could now see clearly the reason she had remained by his side for almost twenty years.

_I loved him when I first saw him at the Pokemon Institute all those years ago, _she suddenly knew, _and I never stopped._

Newly resolved, with Persian by her side, she gathered together Giovanni's belongings and descended into the underground path.


	20. PlusPower

Author's Note:**  
**

Sorry there was no A/N before the last chapter. I wanted to let the content speak for itself (and I was really busy with homework... finals next week!). Chapter 19 was my favorite chapter of this story, but 20 is a close second.

**StarWriterWG: **Yes, it is a lot to cram into three chapters. However, this chapter is my longest ever- 5,500 words- so I think you'll find that a lot can happen in one chapter. :)

**Dilectus:**

... I guess I'm speechless, too.

**Brisenberg: **I completely agree that Ash had a valid point. I will explain more about that scene to you in a PM... it's complicated. Maybe I didn't convey what I intended to convey.

Anywho... here it is. This is Chapter 20. HUGE chapter; it's really like three chapters in one. I hope you enjoy it. Please review and let me know what you thought!

Cheers,

~TheFrogFromHell

**Chapter 20**

_Ouch, _Mew thought, wincing, as it raised its head. Whatever it was lying on felt cold, damp, and mossy, and Mew wondered how it had gotten there. _The last thing I remember was that electric shock_, it recalled cringingly.

Mew opened its wide, blue eyes, and, to its surprise, it saw that it was surrounded by Cameron's other pokemon: Haunter, Vaporeon, Zubat, Vulpix, and Jigglypuff. Haunter was holding an empty Revive, and the pokemon all watched Mew closely as if they weren't sure what to expect. They were in a forest with familiar surroundings, and Mew figured they were probably right outside of Saffron City.

"Hi guys," Mew greeted its friends, grateful for their presence. "I'm glad you're all here, but… what happened? Where are those super powerful pokemon?"

Haunter explained to Mew that it had rushed to Cameron for help, but she and her friend, Fin, had been unable to ward off the pokemon's attacks, and they had been rescued by a woman in a black car. Haunter also said worriedly that the pokemon had chased down the black car (leaving Mew and Haunter behind, fortunately), so it didn't know where Cameron was or if she was safe.

_I hope she's okay,_ Mew thought, feeling a little guilty that its last conversation with Cameron had been when it was still angry with her, but it had faith that Cameron could take care of herself.

"After the super pokemon left, Haunter came to get us, and all of us came to search for you," added Vaporeon. "We brought a Revive from Sabrina's inventory so that you would wake up."

"Thank you," Mew said sincerely.

Abruptly, Mew sensed something concerning and frowned.

"What's wrong?" inquired Vulpix.

"There is a psychic pokemon nearby, and it's very weak and afraid. Its energy feels familiar; I think it could be Cameron… or Mewtwo." Mew explained.

"Well, if it's either one of them, we have to help!" exclaimed Zubat.

"Jiggly," agreed Jigglypuff (at least, Mew assumed it was agreeing).

"Yes," said Mew, but it was feeling a bit apprehensive. "But if those super powerful pokemon are involved, I don't know if we'll be strong enough to fight them."

"We have to try," said Haunter resolutely. "Plus, those pokemon really made me mad, the way they attacked Cameron without warning. We need to give them a taste of their own medicine!"

_Yeah… except that they're all stronger than I am, and the rest of you are even weaker than me, _Mew thought but didn't say aloud.

Sighing, and seeing no other alternative, Mew said, "okay. We'll go see what's going on. But if those pokemon are just too tough, we're getting out of there. I don't want any of you getting hurt."

"Deal," confirmed Haunter, nodding. _Yeah, you say "deal" now, but once we get out there, you'll probably fight until we have to scrape you off the ground to take you to a pokemon center, _Mew thought sarcastically.

"Okay," Mew declared, "let's get going. The pokemon I'm sensing is in a lot of trouble, so we'd better move quickly."

…

As Misty approached the outskirts of Saffron City, she knew something was wrong. Somehow, she could just sense it in the air. _Maybe some of Cameron's and Mewtwo's psychic abilities have rubbed off on me, _she thought jokingly, though she didn't find it very funny at the moment.

"Misty," Brock said anxiously, "I was just thinking about something. If it is Mewtwo that's in trouble… I remember him being incredibly powerful back on New Island. So if there's something strong enough to challenge him…" he trailed off.

Misty nodded. "I had the same thoughts. This could be bad," she agreed.

"Guys, look!" Ash pointed upward, and, sure enough, in the distance, Misty could see a large, white figure surrounded by a sphere of blue psychic energy— Mewtwo. He was being assaulted with an onslaught of attacks generated by a charizard and a pidgeot.

Dawn was arriving, and the morning sun was slowly emerging, casting a bright red hue over the horizon. Mewtwo's sapphire aura starkly contrasted with the color of the sky, which brought Misty's attention to something troubling— when she had seen Mewtwo battle before, his protective psychic shield had appeared strong and unwavering, but now it was perceptibly thinner than normal, and it seemed to be flickering, as if he was struggling to maintain it.

Misty, Ash, and Brock sprinted toward the battling pokemon.

"Go, Staryu! Starmie! Psyduck!" Misty yelled as they approached, releasing her trusted water pokemon. Over the years, she had trained them enough to increase their levels into the seventies and eighties, but she was still nervous that they wouldn't be powerful enough to rival whatever was attacking Mewtwo.

Ash and Brock followed suit, and Misty was glad to have them with her. Together, perhaps the combined strength of all their pokemon would be enough to help Mewtwo…

Misty marveled at the strength of Ash's pokemon in particular. His party was impressive, to say the least. It consisted of Charizard, Pidgeot, Squirtle, Bulbasaur, Butterfree, and, of course, Pikachu, and they were all close to level one hundred. _He must be an impossible gym leader to defeat, _Misty thought, and she admitted to herself that Ash had had a valid point at the KGLC meeting when he'd requested to be moved back to an Elite Four position.

Brock's pokemon were no pushovers either; the sheer physical strength of his Rhyhorn, Onix, and Graveler, all above level seventy, would be enough to oppose even the strongest rival.

Even so, Misty felt more and more nervous as they approached the site of the battle. The three trainers had now entered the small forested area that bordered Saffron City, and Misty had the strange feeling that someone— or something— was nearby, keeping tabs on their progress.

Thinking again of the airborne Charizard and Pidgeot, Misty speculated, _those pokemon looked really familiar to me, but I can't remember why…_

Suddenly, it hit her. They were the clones she'd met on New Island, seventeen years ago!

_I'd completely forgotten about them, _she realized. _I wonder if Mewtwo had, too. But why would they attack him? _None of it made any sense.

Ash, Misty, and Brock arrived at a clearing amidst the trees. All three gasped audibly when they laid eyes on the scene before them.

A number of pokemon, perhaps a dozen, lay strewn across the clearing, all fainted.

_Sandslash, Wigglytuff, Tentacruel, Scyther… _Misty noted in her head, to name a few. _Did Mewtwo knock them all out?_

"Misty, look!" Ash whispered so loudly he might as well have been shouting.

Five pokemon— Golduck, Rapidash, Blastoise, Venasaur, and Pikachu emerged from behind a cluster of trees.

"They're clones," Misty whispered to Brock and Ash, "the same ones we met on New Island!"

"I thought they looked familiar," Brock answered quietly.

"Clones could never be as strong as my original pokemon!" Ash yelled, and Misty mentally kicked herself for saying anything.

Misty hadn't known it was possible for pokemon to smirk, but she swore she saw the corners of Blastoise's mouth turn up into a snide grin.

"Blast… toise. Blast." it said in its low voice. Misty couldn't understand the meaning of its remark, but her pokemon, as well as Ash's and Brock's, protested fervently.

"Pikachu! Pika, pi, pi, ka!" Ash's pikachu remarked angrily.

The clone pikachu leapt forward to face it.

_Weird, _Misty thought, _that other pikachu was created from Ash's pikachu's DNA!_

She felt even weirder when she remembered that Mewtwo had been responsible for the pokemon's cloning.

"Chu… pika!" Misty didn't need to understand pokemon speech to tell that the other pikachu was furious. Sparks flew, literally, as the two electric pokemon prepared themselves for battle.

The clone pikachu was the first to make a move. It directed a swift and precise Thunder attack toward its original counterpart, who skillfully darted out of the way.

_I may not understand why, but I do know we have to protect ourselves and Mewtwo, _Misty thought. "Starmie, go! Bubblebeam attack!" she yelled, gesturing toward Rapidash, the fire-type pokemon.

Starmie grunted and unleashed its aqueous attack, but Rapidash whinnied, sprung into the air, and dodged the move at the last second.

Misty stopped short when she saw that Blastoise was staring at her intensely. _What the…_ she started to think to herself, but her thoughts were interrupted when the pokemon unleashed a forceful Hydro Pump. She shrieked when she realized that the attack had not been directed at Starmie, as she had thought, but directly at her.

Misty threw her body onto the ground, narrowly missing the bulk of the attack and still becoming soaked from head to toe by the stream of water.

"Misty!" Brock yelled, running toward her.

"Bulbasaur, go!" Misty heard Ash instruct his pokemon, "use Vine Whip on Blastoise!"

Misty lay on the ground in shock for a few seconds. _Why would Blastoise…_

Then, it hit her.

_It's because I'm a human, _she thought, _the human that stole Mewtwo away from them._

Seventeen years ago on New Island, Mewtwo's clones had been the closest to friends he'd ever had, until he had become interested in Misty. _Because of me, _she realized, _Mewtwo hasn't seen his clones in over nine years._

"Are you okay?" Brock asked frantically, kneeling down and helping Misty to sit up.

"Fine," Misty answered, though she felt very distraught about everything that was happening.

It wasn't supposed to be like this. Mewtwo was not the same person (or… pokemon) he'd been on New Island. He shouldn't have to deal with angry clone pokemon. He was human now— he'd made himself human in order to have a life with her.

Misty looked upward, and, through the trees, she barely caught a glimpse of her lover— tall, lightening-fast, and covered in a fine white sheen of fur.

_No, _she now understood, _he's not human. He was never meant to be human._

Then, her heart sinking, she thought, _we were never meant to be together._

…

_It's dawn, _Mewtwo thought distractedly as he caught a glimpse of the morning sun emerging from behind the trees. _I have been battling for over twelve hours._

Never had anything tested his mind, body, and, of course, the limits of his psychic powers before, at least, not to this degree.

Mewtwo noticed Pidgeot and Charizard preparing for another attack and made the snap decision to shield himself with a Barrier. He was nearly out of PP for the move, but he was so exhausted that he knew if he tried to move out the way physically, he would be too slow.

He struggled with all his remaining strength to hold the Barrier up, but, to his dismay, it gave out before the attack had run its course, and Mewtwo was hit with the wicked combination of Fire Blast and Razor Wind. His Barrier had deflected most of the attack, but Mewtwo still took damage, and his remaining HP were precious— he was now completely out of PP for Recover.

"Don't you think you should just give up?" Charizard taunted. "A single pokemon could never win against us. We're just too powerful for you."

Mewtwo glared at Charizard, gathering together his remaining energy. He considered using his final Psychic attack that he'd been saving, but then he thought better of it. His eyes glowed, and he projected, _I created all of you, and, if you do not stop this, I will destroy you!_

Charizard chuckled. "You'd better watch out, father…"

_Watch out? _Mewtwo thought, and suddenly he noticed it— a Wing Attack, headed straight for him. In his weakened state, he didn't have time to block it…

Then, out of nowhere, a mysterious wave of psychic energy intercepted the blow. Mewtwo looked around, trying to determine where it had come from. The attack was encased by a luminous, pink aura, which could only mean one thing…

"Mew! Mew, Mew… Mew!" cried Mewtwo's protector, Cameron's mew. He understood the pokemon to have said, "Leave him alone! He's never done anything to you!"

"We think differently," answered Pidgeot, "we think he abandoned us to live with humans and created a hybrid creature that never should have been born!"

Mewtwo was shocked at the furious intensity in Mew's gaze as it retaliated, "That's my trainer you're talking about!" It unleashed its own Psychic attack, which wasn't as powerful as Mewtwo's, but still impressive. Pidgeot was unprepared, and the attack hit it full on. The flying pokemon squawked and flapped its wings rapidly to regain control.

Mewtwo smiled. After that attack, Pidgeot's HP was down to less than a third… Perhaps the situation was not as hopeless as he'd thought. _If we can just stay in the air, we only need to defeat Charizard and Pidgeot, and then we will be able to escape._

That had been Mewtwo's strategy for the last several hours— most of the clones could not fly, so taking the battle to the sky greatly reduced the number of opponents Mewtwo had to fight. With Mew by his side, maybe they had a chance…

Then, in the back of his mind, Mewtwo sensed something— strong human emotion. _Misty, _he realized apprehensively. He could tell that she was close by; probably, she had arrived at the scene of the battle to "protect" Mewtwo. But if she was endangered at the ground level, unable to defend herself, Mewtwo could not stay in the sky and allow her to be attacked by the clones.

Reluctantly, Mewtwo projected to Mew, _we cannot remain airborne. Misty is below us, and her safety supersedes my own._

"But you're too weak," Mew objected, "you can't fight five other pokemon!"

Mewtwo knew that Mew was correct, but he didn't see an alternative.

Mew appeared to think for a moment, as it and Mewtwo continued to dodge and block attacks from Pidgeot and Charizard.

"Do you think you can hold these two off for just a little longer?" Mew asked. Mewtwo thought about it. As worn out as he was now, he didn't know if he could defeat the pokemon, but he had a feeling he could keep them occupied for a few more minutes, maybe an hour.

_I will try, _Mewtwo answered.

"Okay," Mew said discreetly to Mewtwo, "I have a plan. Just stay here, and I'll go down and make sure Misty is okay. I'll send reinforcements."

Mewtwo wondered who these "reinforcements" were, and if they were anywhere near strong enough to battle the clones. But he knew that if he went down there, he would surely faint, or maybe even die.

_Understood,_ Mewtwo projected. _Thank you, Mew. But… please hurry._

The pokemon nodded, descending toward the ground, and Mewtwo braced himself for a powerful onslaught of attacks directed his way.

…

The automatic glass doors of the Saffron City pokemon center opened, and Cameron and Fin stepped through them.

"Glad that's over with," Cameron said to Fin, and he nodded in agreement. It had been an awkward scene explaining to Nurse Joy why a "human" required the same treatment as an injured pokemon, and Cameron had needed to erase the nurse's memories after her healing was finished.

"I'm just glad you're okay," Fin said in relief. Cameron certainly looked like she'd been restored to full strength— she no longer appeared exhausted, and her steps seemed lighter and freer than they had less than an hour ago. She smiled at Fin, and he couldn't help but grin back.

"You know… I felt kind of bad about messing with Nurse Joy's memories," Cameron speculated aloud, which surprised Fin.

"You had no choice," Fin reasoned. "If you hadn't, you'd be all over the five o'clock news by now."

"I know, but…" Cameron frowned as if something was bothering her. "That blonde woman… Tulip, or whatever her name was… pretended to be our friend, and then she manipulated us. I know it's not the same, but I don't want to do that to people anymore. Now I know how it feels when you're on the other end, you know? I don't want to pretend to be someone I'm not anymore."

"Yeah," Fin replied, floored at her revelation, "I get that." _This is _not_ the same Cameron I met at the club that night, _he thought incredulously. "But, you're not a regular person, either…" seeing the strange look she gave him, he added, "no offense. Sometimes, to protect yourself, you're going to have to use your powers. Just not all the time. Only when you need to."

Cameron appeared deep in thought for a moment. "I think that's going to be the hard part," she said, "deciding when I really need to and when I don't."

"This might sound crazy to you, but that's the same thing Sabrina and I had to learn at some point," Fin said, and Cameron looked surprised. "I think it's kind of a rite of passage for psychics. We're born with these powers, but it's up to us to decide how we're going to use them… how they're going to affect our lives."

"That's an interesting way of thinking about it," remarked Cameron. Abruptly, her expression darkened, and she looked around as if searching for something. "That signature you sensed," she said, changing the subject, "I'm sensing it too, now that my powers are back. You were right; it is almost the same as mine, which makes me think— actually, I'm almost positive— that it's my dad."

"Okay," Fin said seriously, "let's go find the others and help them. I've got my pokemon with me. What about you?"

Cameron shook her head. "I left mine at the gym when we went to save Mew. Stupid, huh?"

"You were just caught up in the moment," Fin rationalized, "and plus, you're so strong all by yourself that you probably figured you could help Mew without your pokemon."

"I guess," Cameron considered. "Actually, it might have been a good thing they weren't there… those pokemon were freakishly strong. I've never seen anything like them before." She began walking faster. "I really hope they're not what my dad is upset about. He is really powerful, too, but… I don't know if he could handle all of them at once. We should hurry."

It was strange thinking about Cameron's dad. _When she says that he's powerful, she means he's a powerful _pokemon_, _Fin considered, and that thought was a little odd. _She said he was a "Mewtwo"… and she has a Mew in her party. Could they be related somehow? _If the pokemon in trouble was Mewtwo, Fin hoped that he wasn't being attacked by those pokemon they'd met, but, at the same time, he was anxious to meet him.

Cameron and Fin headed toward the city's border, and, as they got closer, the distressed psychic signature became more and more prominent in Fin's mind. The sensation of it was almost unbearable; Fin felt as if he was experiencing the same physical and emotional strain that this poor pokemon was.

Fin jumped in shock when he saw a huge flash of bright, white light emanating from the forest. _Some kind of electric attack, _he conjectured.

_That's what I was thinking, _Cameron communicated back to him telepathically. Fin hadn't expected her to read his thoughts, but he found that in this situation, he didn't mind it._ Let's move— run! Get ready to fight!_

Fin reached for his belt, which held his pokeballs. Retrieving them, he tossed the balls ahead of him and Cameron and called, "Go! Executor, Mr. Mime, Jynx, Alakazam! Poliwrath, you too!"

The pokemon materialized in front of Fin and Cameron, and, even though Fin consciously knew that Cameron was far stronger than any of them, he still felt comforted by their presence.

Soon, the group arrived at a large clearing and surveyed their surroundings. _That's odd, _Fin thought when he saw some of the powerful pokemon that he and Cameron had met the night before lying still on the ground, fainted. _Only a really strong pokemon could have done that…_

In the center of the clearing, several intense pokemon battles were going on. A Bulbasaur and a Squirtle were hard at work blocking and countering attacks from the Blastoise and Venasaur that Fin remembered from the night before. At first glance, the unevolved pokemon appeared to have the disadvantage, but Fin quickly realized that their smaller size made them more agile, which helped them dodge their opponents' attacks.

To the right of Bulbasaur and Squirtle were three huge rock pokemon— Onix, Graveler, and Rhyhorn— taking on a single pikachu. If Fin hadn't known how powerful that pikachu was, the scene would have been comical, but Fin suspected it was that pokemon's attack that had illuminated the forest earlier.

"Cameron! Fin!" called a voice, and Fin saw Misty, Cameron's mother, running toward them. She embraced her daughter warmly, and Fin smiled when he noticed how much they resembled each other. Ash and Brock, who Fin had met earlier at Silph Co., stood on the other side of the clearing.

"Hi, guys," Ash yelled distractively whilst craning his neck to peer at something in the sky. Fin followed Ash's gaze upwards. It was hard to see what was going on through the trees, but it looked like there was a battle going on up there, with two pokemon using fire and flying type attacks and another pokemon blocking them.

Suddenly, two pokemon, battling ferociously, emerged from behind some trees— a butterfree, which Fin assumed to be Ash's, and the golduck with the strange eyes that Fin and Cameron had met before, which was attempting to attack Butterfree with Fury Swipes.

Meanwhile, Ash's pidgeot was busy battling a rapidash, and a staryu and a starmie trailed behind, aiming water-type attacks at it as well.

Strangely, a psyduck stood in the middle of the clearing, appearing completely oblivious to what was going on.

Evidently alarmed by something that had happened in the aerial battle, Ash called to his two flying pokemon, "Pidgeot and Butterfree, leave the clones and go up there to help Mewtwo!"

_Clones?_ Fin thought in confusion. He hadn't thought it possible, but the scenario had just gotten even weirder.

The pokemon obeyed, but now the trainers had another problem— Golduck and Rapidash were charging straight at Cameron!

Instinctively, Fin ran in front of Cameron and shouted to his pokemon, "Alakazam, quick! Use Confusion on Golduck! Poliwrath, use your Water Gun on Rapidash!"

The pokemon complied, and it generated a wave of psychic energy that arrested Golduck's progress. When the attack was over, the pokemon stood unsteadily on its feet, dazed and disoriented from Confusion's effects.

At the same time, Rapidash had been squirted straight on with Poliwrath's Water Gun, and it objected fervently with a shrill "neigh!". Seizing the opportunity, Staryu and Starmie aimed their own Water Guns at Rapidash as well.

The attacks had still not been strong enough to knock the two pokemon out completely, but they had definitely done some damage and stopped Golduck and Rapidash from reaching Cameron.

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt, NOW!" Fin heard Ash bellow, and within a split second, Golduck and Rapidash were met by a fortress of electricity. It might have been the most powerful electric attack Fin had ever seen; maybe even more impressive than the other pikachu's Thunder. _And it's super effective on Golduck, since it's a water type, _he noted.

_Duh,_ Fin heard Cameron say in his mind. He turned to her and glowered, and she stuck her tongue out at him.

_Mature, _he replied sarcastically.

_Relax. I was just messing with you. _

Misty, who'd been watching Fin and Cameron's silent exchange, sighed and said, "I don't know if I should be happy or terrified that you two are friends." But her smile indicated to Fin which it was.

"Yesss!" Ash exclaimed, and Fin, Cameron, and Misty turned back to see Golduck and Rapidash fainted on the ground, with a satisfied looking Pikachu standing over them. "Great job, Pikachu! Haha!"

"Pika!" The small, yellow pokemon leapt into Ash's arms for a hug.

_He's so close to his pokemon, _Fin thought. _I mean, I'm attached to my pokemon, too, but Alakazam or Poliwrath and I have never been like that. Maybe it's because I learned how to train pokemon from Sabrina, and she's a bit more reserved._

Fin heard a small noise behind him.

"Vulpix! Vul!"

He and Cameron turned around to see that several pokemon had appeared— Vulpix, Haunter, Jigglypuff, Zubat, and Vaporeon.

Cameron rushed to them.

"Guys!" she exclaimed, obviously overjoyed to see them. She knelt down and asked them, "What are you doing here?"

Zubat screeched, and Haunter replied, "Haunt. Haunter, haunt."

"But you guys aren't strong enough to battle those pokemon! They're even stronger than I am."

It was interesting to see Cameron interact with her pokemon— a week ago, Fin would have thought she'd be indifferent, but now she was caring and concerned.

There was a rustling in the trees, and Fin gasped when he laid eyes on the source of it.

It was the legendary pokemon, Mew, in the flesh. Fin had believed Cameron when she'd told him she had a Mew, but it was different meeting it in person.

"Wow," Fin said aloud. Turning to Cameron, he asked her incredulously, "Is that really your pokemon? How in the world did you catch it?"

"Long story," Cameron replied, sounding bored, as if she got asked that question all the time. "Remind me to explain it to you sometime."

"Mew! Mew, Mew!" The pokemon exclaimed, and Fin watched Cameron listen to whatever it was saying intently. _Even though I understand why now, the way she talks to pokemon is pretty amazing, _Fin thought, and Cameron winked at him, prompting him to avert his gaze embarrassedly.

"Okay, I understand. Go ahead. I'll be there in a second," Cameron said to Mew.

"Mew," the pokemon acknowledged, and it flew upwards towards the battle in the air.

Turning to Fin, Cameron explained, "I guess my dad isn't doing so well up there. He's been battling them since last night."

"Since _last night?_" Fin questioned, amazed that any pokemon could hold off such fierce opponents for so long.

"I guess the battle started right after we went off with Tulip," Cameron said, shaking her head. "I still can't believe we trusted her."

"I know," Fin agreed, "that was a bad call."

Cameron looked at him, and, surprisingly, she burst out laughing.

""Bad call" is a bit of an understatement, I think," she commented. "But, whatever. That's over now. Now… I have to help my dad. If he and I work together, we might be able to defeat these pokemon."

The notion of Cameron fighting them made Fin anxious. She'd done well in her training the day before, but they'd only just gotten started…

But Fin knew Cameron, and, when she set her mind to something, she wasn't one to give it up very easily. She'd probably battle whether Fin wanted her to or not.

Nodding seriously, Fin said, "Okay. But stay safe, okay? I want you to come back in one piece."

Cameron smiled. "Don't worry. I intend to remain fully intact." She pushed off the ground, levitating, preparing to ascend to the sky.

"Wait… Just one more thing," Fin interjected. Cameron looked back at him and raised an eyebrow. "Why are they doing this? Why do they want to attack you and your father?"

She sighed and paused before answering. "Well, I'm not totally sure," she replied, "but… from the bits of their thoughts that I've been able to understand… I think it's because of me. I guess they don't like that I exist, and they want me gone. Satisfied?"

Before Fin could answer, she took off, whizzing at top pace past the trees and up above the city. Her two pokemon that could fly— Haunter and Zubat— followed close behind her.

"Jiggly!" Her Jigglypuff lamented.

_Great,_ Fin thought sarcastically, now _she tells me. She's going off to face several insanely powerful creatures that want her dead._

Worried, he returned to the clearing with the rest of Cameron's pokemon, who leapt into action (other than Jigglypuff, who scurried over to the psyduck in the middle of the clearing and stared into its eyes vacantly).

Fin saw Ash, Misty and Brock battling as hard as they could with their pokemon, and he decided, _I guess the best I can do is help them hold down the fort down here._

…

When Cameron finally reached Mewtwo, she wished she would have arrived earlier.

He looked totally exhausted from battling all night. Cameron had rarely seen him in his pokemon form, but, when she had, he had looked nothing like he did now.

His body was covered with burns and abrasions, and his movements were slow and lethargic rather than effortless and precise like they usually were. Mew had arrived shortly before Cameron, along with Ash's pidgeot and butterfree, and the three of them seemed to be doing most of the battling; Mewtwo was too weak to fight for much longer. Zubat and Haunter attempted to join the fight, but their levels were too low for them to do much damage.

Cameron locked eyes with her father, and he projected to her, _Cameron. I am pleased that you have arrived._

_Dad,_ Cameron answered sincerely, _I'm sorry._

Mewtwo appeared puzzled. _Your apology is unnecessary. Why should you apologize now?_

Cameron felt tears spring to her eyes. She hadn't realized she'd been holding them back until now.

_I'm sorry that I caused all this, _she replied, closing her eyes and choking back sobs. _I'm sorry that I exist. I'm sorry that you were attacked because of me. I'm sorry…_

_Stop._

Cameron opened her violet eyes, peering into his identical pair.

_You are not to blame for your own existence, _Mewtwo projected, _just as I am not to blame for mine. We are alike, you and I. Exceptions to nature's rules. _He looked back at Charizard and the clone pidgeot determinedly. _But that does not mean we should be persecuted for our differences._

Usually, when Mewtwo spoke to Cameron, her immediate impulse was to argue with him. But now, strangely, she found that she agreed with her father, and that, within the last twenty-four hours, she'd come to the same conclusion, in her own way.

And now, she had an idea. Separately, Cameron and Mewtwo were already powerful, but together…

_Do you have any attacks left? _Cameron asked him.

_Only one, _Mewtwo replied. _I have been preserving my last Psychic attack for the right moment._

_Let's attack together, _Cameron suggested. _You, Mew, Haunter, Zubat, Ash's pokemon, and me. If we combine our strength, maybe we can knock them out._

Mewtwo nodded. A serious, resolved expression came over his face, and Cameron noted how daunting he could look in his pokemon form. _And I thought he was scary enough as a human, _she thought, remembering when she'd been intimidated by him as a young child.

_Mew, Zubat, Haunter, _she communicated to her pokemon, _we're planning an attack, together. Butterfree, Pidgeot, you too! On the count of three, use your most powerful attack, and shoot it straight for the clones. Ready?_

_Ready, _Mew confirmed.

Looking again at her father, Cameron started the count off.

_One, _she projected.

_Two,_ replied Mewtwo.

_Three! _ finished Mew.

Cameron unleashed the strongest wave of psychic energy she could muster, and, suddenly, she was completely surrounded by a blinding flash of pure, white light.

The incredible power of all five of them combined coursed through her veins, and she felt for a moment like she was floating, suspended in the air.

Then, she was falling, and everything was a blur.

Somewhere in the back of her mind, she rationalized, _I must have put so much energy into attacking that I had none left to keep myself in the air. _Mostly, though, she just watched as the world flew by her, transforming into a whirlwind of random colors and sounds.

It all ended when she hit the ground with a "thud".


	21. Rainbow Energy

**Chapter 21**

She came out of nowhere.

Fin had been battling with his pokemon, who, regrettably, were slowly losing the fight. Executor and Jynx had already fainted, and Poliwrath, Mr. Mime, and Alakazam were struggling to continue. Fin had been communicating with them telepathically, attempting to stop them from taking hits that would surely result in their downfall. Periodically, he had glanced at the sky for signs that the aerial battle was going well for Cameron. She was their only hope; even Ash's pokemon were tiring.

All of a sudden, there had been a huge burst of brilliant light— shades of blue, pink, and violet had merged together to form an intense, white radiance.

A few seconds had passed as Fin, his companions, and even their adversaries had stopped what they had been doing in order to witness the scene unfolding. Then, out of the stillness and silence of the white light had fallen a number of distinct figures— some large, some small, and some in between.

They all plummeted toward the ground so fast that no one had the time to do anything but move out of their way. Fin's heart pounded when he saw that Cameron was one of the falling shapes. For the few seconds he was able to see her face, it appeared she was in a daze; she was facing him, but her eyes seemed to look right through him into some unknown oblivion.

After a few moments, the dust cleared and, forgetting about anything but Cameron, Fin ran towards the center of the clearing.

On the forest's floor were Butterfree, Charizard, two pidgeots, Zubat, Haunter, and two light colored pokemon— Mew, and a pokemon that appeared similar to it that Fin had never seen before. _Mewtwo,_ he figured, but his largest concern was whether Cameron was alright.

Her body was completely motionless, lying in an anatomical position on the ground. Her face held a serene expression, displaying no signs of tension or discomfort. Her dark hair had come out of its ponytail and was now fanned out on the ground around her.

"Wake up," Fin said softly, kneeling beside her and laying a hand on her shoulder. He was terrified that this time wouldn't be like before; that this time, she wouldn't open her eyes. "Cameron," he stated, now raising his voice, "WAKE. UP."

Fin froze as he heard footsteps approaching. Enormous, thunderous footsteps.

He looked over his shoulder and narrowed his eyes at what he saw.

"Blast," stated the leader of the powerful pokemon, who stood proudly in between Venasaur and Pikachu.

Fin looked around, and, to his horror, he realized that there were no pokemon left to oppose them; they had all fainted. _That's it,_ he thought, _we did our best, but we just weren't strong enough._

Blastoise and its companions approached Fin slowly and menacingly. _Are they really going to kill Cameron? _he thought fearfully, using his own body as a feeble shield to protect her.

The pokemon answered with their actions. Fin's pulse raced when he saw Blastoise lowering its canons, readying itself for a Hydro Pump attack; Venasaur unfurling its leaves ominously in preparation for Solar Beam; and Pikachu's cheeks buzzing with pent up electricity.

"Cameron, Fin, _no!_" Misty yelled. She, Ash, and Brock ran to Fin's side, also without their pokemon and just as vulnerable as he and Cameron were.

"If you want to destroy my daughter, you're going to have to go through us first!" cried Ash.

_Your daughter? _Fin wondered, though Ash's comment was the least of his worries at the moment.

Apparently, the pokemon were not phased by the idea of destroying more than just Cameron. They continued to charge up their attacks, and Fin closed his eyes, bracing himself…

But instead, he heard something entirely unexpected.

"PUFF!"

Gasping, he opened his eyes to see Jigglypuff and Psyduck standing side by side. _Oh yeah, _Fin remembered, _those two disappeared into the woods a while ago… I'd forgotten about them!_

The strange part was, both pokemon were glowing blue.

_What the…? _Fin thought incredulously, _how is a Jigglypuff using psychic attacks?_

Psyduck was furrowing its brow and shaking its head in discomfort, as if it had a terrible headache. Jigglypuff's huge eyes narrowed, and a look of concentration came over its face. Fin sensed the psychic energy building up, becoming stronger and stronger, until…

"Psy…"

"Jiggly…"

"DUCK!"

"PUFF!"

A huge wave of blue psychic energy was unleashed, taking Pikachu, Venasaur, and Blastoise completely by surprise. It hit the pokemon like a brick wall, knocking them backwards with incredible force, and Fin, Misty, and the others ducked as the pokemon flew over their heads, landing on the ground at the edge of the clearing.

Fin stood completely immobile, still prepared for the worst. Jigglypuff and Psyduck joined him at his side, also watching their opponents intently.

The pokemon weren't moving… but Psyduck and Jigglypuff couldn't have been strong enough to knock them out, could they? _Blastoise, Pikachu, and Venasaur _were_ already tired out from the battle,_ Fin considered. _Maybe… just maybe…_

A minute, then two minutes, went by, and the pokemon still remained motionless on the ground.

"That's it," said Brock quietly. "They fainted. It's all over."

But it wasn't over; not for Fin. He turned to Cameron again, and, to his surprise, her body began to glow just as Jigglypuff's and Psyduck's had.

"Look," Misty gasped, "Mew and Mewtwo, too!"

Surely enough, all three were radiating out psychic energy. In his mind, Fin picked up an oddly pleasant sensation in their signatures— a warm, soothing calm.

Slowly, the blue hue faded from Cameron's body, and her eyes opened. Again, Fin knelt down to be closer to her, and Ash, Misty, and Brock did the same. Misty embraced her daughter for a long time, whispering something in her ear and giving her a peck on the cheek before pulling away. Cameron smiled.

"That was… amazing," she said, "I've never felt anything like it before."

"What happened?" inquired Fin, who was completely baffled. "You fell, but now you're… did you heal yourself?"

Fin saw Misty move over to check on Mewtwo, who was lying several feet away.

"I… I think it was the energy," Cameron answered speculatively. "The power of all of us combined… it healed us."

"Mew!" Fin heard, and the small catlike pokemon rose from where it had lain on the ground, joining them.

"Mew," Cameron said genuinely, "thank you for helping me up there." The pokemon nuzzled her, and she sighed and added, "And I'm sorry I've been such a rotten trainer to you."

Apparently, Mew communicated something telepathically to Cameron, and she laughed and hugged her pokemon.

"Puff!" cried Jigglypuff, who Fin had forgotten about. The pokemon ran to its trainer, and Cameron patted its pink head.

"You missed it, but Jigglypuff was pretty amazing a few minutes ago," Fin said, still partly in disbelief of the pokemon's abilities. "I think it's psychic!"

"Really?" Cameron questioned, peering at Jigglypuff skeptically.

"Yeah." Fin looked at the pokemon. "Hey, Jigglypuff, show Cameron your psychic powers! I know… lift me off the ground!"

The pokemon stared at Fin contemplatively. Its eyes narrowed like they had earlier when it had blasted those pokemon back with its awesome power.

"That's it!" Fin encouraged, "Just like you did before!"

Just when the pokemon appeared to be bursting with psychic energy, it looked Fin in the eyes and simply said, "Puff."

Cameron burst out laughing. "Nice try, Fin," she said, "but I know you're just trying to mess with me!"

"No, it's true!" Fin insisted, but he couldn't help laughing with her.

After a moment, Fin looked around at all the fainted pokemon in the clearing. _This is a big mess that needs to be cleaned up, _he thought, not looking forward to the aftermath of the morning's events. But he, Cameron, Mewtwo, and the others were safe, and, for now, that was enough.

…

For the first time in a long while, Mewtwo's mind was at peace, and he felt rested, relaxed, and comforted. _It is over, _he remembered, immensely relieved, _the battle has ended. _He slowly opened his eyes to see Misty kneeling over him with a look of loving concern on her beautiful face.

Mewtwo did not say anything; he just watched her as she caressed his face softly, reminding him of the time, many years ago now, when he had first felt her touch.

She had been so young… and Mewtwo had been so violent, so misdirected. Everything had been complicated back then, and, though Mewtwo realized the same could be said of now, there was a marked difference in how he felt about the world, and about his relationship with Misty.

_I feel… happy that you are here,_ Mewtwo communicated to her.

Misty sniffed, and Mewtwo realized that she had been crying.

"I'm glad that you're safe," she said, pulling her body to his and embracing him. Mewtwo basked in her warmth and softness and was astounded by how much her body differed from his.

Misty pulled away from him, and Mewtwo saw something in her eyes that both frightened and intrigued him. It was something he had suspected had been there for a long time, but, until this moment, he had not felt at liberty to address.

_Misty… I require rest. I battled for longer than the others, and, because of that, I believe I am more fatigued. But… when I am recovered… we need to discuss an important matter._

Misty's expression became a little more serious, and she nodded and said, "Yes… I need to talk to you about something, too."

…

Misty heard the sound of a car's engine somewhere in the distance. The noise grew louder and louder until she identified the source— two police cars pulling into the clearing.

The cars' doors opened, and four Officer Jennys got out of one car. In the other car was another Officer Jenny, as well as Sabrina and two other women that Misty didn't recognize. One of them was, apparently, a scientist, as Misty gathered from her clinical-looking outfit.

The new arrivals gasped as they surveyed their surroundings.

"What _happened_ here?" exclaimed one of the officers, walking around and examining all of the fainted pokemon.

"There was a battle," Ash said, standing up and retrieving his own pokemon.

_As if that wasn't obvious, _Misty thought with a chuckle. Oh, Ash.

Fin, Brock, Cameron, and Misty followed suit, returning their pokemon to their respective pokeballs. Now all that were left lying on the ground were the clones… and Mewtwo.

_Uh-oh, _Misty fretted, _they're going to see Mewtwo in his pokemon form! This could be bad…_

_Do not fear them,_ Mewtwo projected to her, slowly rising to his feet with Misty's support. _I sense no malice in their thoughts… and, strangely, they seem to be already aware of my existence._

_But… how could they be?_ Misty wondered, almost not believing Mewtwo's words. _We've worked so hard for all these years to keep his true identity a secret…_

One of the officer Jennys took out a bag of some very unique looking pokeballs. They were blue and silver, with the Pokemon Center's logo printed on them. Officer Jenny threw the balls at the cloned pokemon, capturing them one by one.

"These are special balls," she explained to Misty, who was watching interestedly. "They can temporarily hold a fainted pokemon so that it can be transferred to a pokemon center."

Misty nodded, but she was concerned about something. "What will you do with them after that?" she questioned.

"Dr. Carson has plans for a new home for them," Officer Jenny said, and Misty figured she was referring to the female scientist who had arrived with them. "However, it will take a month or two to construct, so, until then, they will be contained in a laboratory and studied."

Misty didn't like the sound of that. From spending so much time with Mewtwo, Misty knew that running lab experiments on pokemon could be disastrous.

Mewtwo did not look entirely pleased with Officer Jenny either, and she quickly added, "Only observational studies, of course. And, according to Dr. Carson, the pokemon will be living in an artificial biome designed to approximate their natural habitat."

Mewtwo still did not look totally convinced, but he remained silent.

To Misty's surprise, the other unfamiliar woman ran up to Mewtwo as if she knew him.

"Michael," she said as if overjoyed to see him, and Misty raised an eyebrow as the woman, who appeared to be about twenty-five or thirty years old and was quite attractive, embraced Mewtwo.

Mewtwo returned the hug stiffly at first, but then a look of recognition came over his face.

_Kay,_ Misty heard in her mind. _Kay? _she wondered, _who's that?_

"I'm sorry," the woman said to Mewtwo, "I know I said I wouldn't tell anyone about you, but then the police called me in for more questioning, and they said they had samples of your DNA, so you weren't exactly a secret anymore anyway."

"_What?_" Misty shrieked. She was shocked and terrified that the police had discovered Mewtwo's identity, but, strangely, he just stood there calmly, unfazed by the whole situation. "How?"

Sabrina, who had been checking on Cameron and Fin, and another of the Officer Jennys approached Mewtwo and Misty.

_So… since you know of my identity, _Mewtwo projected to all of them, _what will you do with me now? Perhaps this is wishful thinking, but I assume that if you had been planning to destroy me you would have done so already._

"We'll explain everything," Sabrina said, looking at Mewtwo with kindness.

"A few years ago, Mewtwo— or, rather, "Michael Silver"— rescued this woman from a known serial killer," Officer Jenny explained. "At the crime scene, the killer managed to stab Mewtwo with his knife…" Misty gasped, and Officer Jenny added, "Nothing critical, of course; just a little nick on the ankle."

Cameron and Fin had joined the group and were now listening intently.

"Anyway, we looked up "Michael Silver" in our system for verification and couldn't find anyone with that name in Kanto, or anywhere, for that matter, so we started to get suspicious."

"So… you must have looked at the DNA," Fin said, joining the conversation.

"Exactly," Officer Jenny said. "We analyzed the blood we found on the knife… and were shocked by what we saw."

"Pokemon DNA," Misty said softly, shaking her head. _It was bound to happen sooner or later, _she thought, trying to console herself. It didn't help much, though; she couldn't get over the years she had spent protecting Mewtwo's identity, and, simultaneously, Giovanni, just to find out Mewtwo had already been discovered years ago.

"That was the most interesting part," Officer Jenny continued. "We compared 'Michael''s DNA to all the DNA in the Cinnabar Laboratory archive…"

Mewtwo shuddered visibly at the mention of the laboratory, and Misty laid a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"…and found that this 'Michael Silver' had pieces of DNA identical to the clone of Mew, Mewtwo, created almost twenty years prior."

_I see, _Mewtwo commented telepathically, _and I imagine you discovered some other "interesting" information about my past as well._

Officer Jenny nodded. "Yes," she admitted, "when we read about you destroying the lab and the scientists within it, we were initially apprehensive, especially since we knew you were living somewhere in Kanto under our radar."

Misty noticed that Fin and Cameron looked taken aback, and she realized regretfully that she had never told Cameron the whole story of her father's birth before. _I should have, _Misty decided, _she's been old enough to hear it for a long time, and she deserves to know._

"But, when we interviewed Kay, she told us that you saved her life, and, over the years, we have received other anonymous reports of this "Michael Silver" putting things right all over Kanto."

Misty turned to Mewtwo and smiled. "You're famous," she teased, and his expression changed ever so slightly, indicating to her his embarrassment.

"That told us that maybe this person— or pokemon— had changed since he was created in that laboratory. However, we still didn't have enough information to be entirely sure, until…"

"I came to visit," Sabrina said, finishing her sentence.

Addressing Cameron and Fin, Sabrina continued, "For being away when you needed me, I apologize. After the meeting at Silph Co, I decided I needed to do some research, and, not realizing you were in danger, I stayed at the police station much longer than I should have. I hope you can forgive me."

Misty frowned. She wasn't happy that Cameron had been endangered, but she was also curious about what Sabrina had to say. "Go on," she encouraged.

"Well, it just so happened that Officer Jenny, who had worked on the case years before, was at the Saffron City police station last night. When I mentioned a shape shifting psychic pokemon, she became very curious, and the two of us began a conversation."

"And they called me in for more questioning," Kay added.

Misty was confused. "Why did you need more information about Mewtwo?" she asked Sabrina.

Sabrina looked at Misty and answered directly. "Actually, it was because of you," she explained. "At the Kanto Gym Leaders Council meeting, your thoughts were quite prominent, probably because of your emotional distress. While I try to respect the privacy of those around me, I couldn't help but pick up that you, the shape shifting pokemon, and Giovanni had had some kind of connection in the past. I was looking for some information that would help me prove to the council that Giovanni was guilty of abusing pokemon in that Cinnabar Island experiment, and I thought that finding out more about Mewtwo would help my case."

_Wow,_ Misty thought, _I can't believe she figured all that out just from being around me for a few minutes!_

"Which reminds me," Sabrina said, "where is Giovanni? I was a bit worried after the meeting when he got so angry; his thoughts were so intense that they almost felt like they burned me."

Misty, Cameron, and Fin exchanged looks.

"That's… a long story," Fin said. "The main point is, he's dead."

"Dead?" Sabrina's deep crimson eyes widened in shock. "How?"

"Actually, it just happened less than two hours ago," said Brock, who was now standing behind Sabrina. "I tried to call the police station, but the phone just rang and rang…"

"It's because we saw the commotion here, and all of us rushed over," Officer Jenny explained reluctantly. Addressing two of her fellow officers, she asked, "Ladies, will you head over to Silph Co. and see what's going on?"

"We're on it, Jenny," said one of them, and the two got into one of the police cars and drove off.

Turning back to Misty, Mewtwo, and the others, Officer Jenny said, "We need to get the injured pokemon to the pokemon center. I'll be keeping in touch with all of you…" she then spoke specifically to Mewtwo. "Except for you, that is. I need you to come with me… we have some matters to discuss."

Misty looked from Officer Jenny to Mewtwo and back warily. _Oh no, _she thought, _maybe they _are_ going to do something to Mewtwo after all…_

_What "matters"? _Mewtwo projected in their minds._ Are these "matters" pertaining to the circumstances of my creation?_

"If you're going somewhere with Mewtwo, I'm coming with you!" Misty stated firmly.

"That's… fine, as long as Mewtwo is comfortable," Officer Jenny said, looking at Mewtwo and Misty as if coming to a realization about their relationship. "And… in answer to your question, Mewtwo… no, this has nothing to do with your birth. Actually, I wanted to offer you a job."


	22. Sleep!

Author's Note:

This is it, gang. The FINAL CHAPTER. Right after I post this, I'm gonna navigate over to the "Manage Stories" page and change "Hybrid"'s status to "COMPLETE". I'm very excited for everyone to read this chapter. I want to know what you think! Be kind... REVIEW! (Don't rewind).

**Brisenberg: **Jiggly. Puff, Jigglypuff.

**StarWriterWG: **Expect the unexpected! No, wait... don't! Then it would be expected! Expect the expected! Do you ever read a word so many times it loses its meaning and seems ridiculous to you? Expect, expect, expect... haha. Sorry.

**Dilectus: **No. That was not "it". This is "it"!

This is the end. Enjoy!

~TheFrogFromHell

**Chapter 22**

Back at home, Misty had the strange feeling of déjà vu. She had showered, dressed, and come downstairs to speak to Mewtwo, who, now in human form, sat on the couch awaiting her.

It reminded her too much of when Ash had left nine years ago, a memory she'd rather forget. The only difference now was that Cameron had remained in Saffron City with Fin and Sabrina for the night so that Misty could have some private time with Mewtwo.

Not wanting the events of nine years ago to become a horrible, painful pattern, Misty said when she reached the bottom of the staircase, "Can we… maybe talk outside?"

Not only did they go outside, but they decided to settle in Mewtwo's favorite place—the roof. It was a beautiful evening, and Misty could see all the vibrant hues of the sunset from their perch. She and Mewtwo just sat quietly for a few minutes, admiring the deep shades of pink, magenta, and violet that streaked the sky.

Finally, knowing that what was coming was inevitable, Misty asked, "So… what did you need to talk about tonight?"

Mewtwo took a deep breath and, never one to soften the truth, answered straightforwardly, "You and I. I am… concerned about our relationship."

Misty had thought as much from their brief exchange in the woods outside Saffron, but it was still shocking to learn straight from Mewtwo that she was correct.

She nodded, deciding to let Mewtwo open the conversation.

"When I saw you with… Brock," he continued, "and those other humans today, I saw something I had been denying you, selfishly, for years."

This intrigued Misty; she had not realized that seeing her with Brock had affected Mewtwo at all. He'd seemed so… mechanical.

"Misty, you are a human. Naturally, you belong with others of your kind. Over the course of our relationship, I have kept you isolated from them. This was not my intention, but… I suppose I am still uncomfortable with other humans, and I try to avoid them when possible. It is because I am not truly human, and not wholly a pokemon anymore either. I was created to be somewhere between the two, which is a difficult… and unnatural… state to exist in."

"But… Mewtwo…" Misty protested weakly, though she knew he was right. "I love you. And I wanted to spend those years with you."

"I am still deeply in love with you also," Mewtwo said, "but, simultaneously, I realize that you have life requirements I cannot fulfill."

Misty gasped and felt tears spring to her eyes. _As if I need more waterworks today, _she thought sarcastically, but Mewtwo's words were true, and she had known they were for quite some time, but was only just now admitting that to herself.

"I have missed my friends," Misty admitted. "But… this isn't all about me. I would stay with you forever if I thought you'd be completely happy… but you're not, are you?"

Mewtwo's peered at her with his deep violet eyes. After pausing for a moment, he responded, "No, I am not."

Misty's tears escaped her eyes and rolled down her face.

"Although it was a sacrifice I was willing to make to be with you, I feel… trapped; uncomfortable in this form. I was never meant to manipulate my body in such a way, and, in doing so, I feel I have lost some of my identity." Looking at her sadly, he finished, "I… do not want to do this anymore."

"Mewtwo," Misty said, touching his arm gently and feeling a terrible sense of loss, yet knowing by now that honesty was always the best path. "I… understand. Well, not really; I've never been in your position, but… what happened on New Island…"

"Was never meant to happen," Mewtwo interrupted, finishing the thought.

"I can't imagine how you must have felt, all these years, being in a different body…" Misty shuddered. She had always taken it for granted that Mewtwo could shape shift at will, but she had never considered that the process might cause him such emotional and physical discomfort.

"I believe… that change must occur in order for us to find true contentment," said Mewtwo, and Misty thought she heard his tone falter. When she looked into his amethyst eyes, she saw the sunset reflected in his budding tears, and she realized that she had never before seen him cry.

"But… where will you go, if not here? What will you do now?" Misty asked. Earlier, Officer Jenny had offered Mewtwo the position of being a one-man (or one-pokemon) specialized unit in the Kanto police force, designed to detect and arrest the most dangerous of criminals, but he had been unsure whether or not he would accept the job.

"I will do what I have done for most of my life. I will wander, exploring the land and discovering new things I have not known before. But now… now I will do so with an objective."

"So, you're going to take that job?" Misty inquired.

"I believe so," Mewtwo answered, his tone growing more resolved and confident as he gazed contemplatively at the colorful horizon. "I have spent so much of my life in the shadows, but perhaps… perhaps I can be of use in the light. Perhaps I have found my purpose."

Misty remained quiet, processing his words. On one hand, they made her feel very happy for Mewtwo, but, on the other hand, it was awful to think of their relationship ending. For the last nine years, and for much of Cameron's upbringing, Mewtwo had been with Misty every day. How would she handle it when he was no longer by her side?

Turning back to Misty, Mewtwo questioned, "What about you? What will you do? Will you remain here?"

_Alone, _Misty thought, hearing the obvious implication in Mewtwo's inquiry.

It was a valid question; would she really be happy living in solidarity in this huge house that Ash's Elite Four earnings had bought for them fifteen years ago? Cameron would either be training with Sabrina in Saffron or, eventually, continuing with her pokemon journey, so Misty wouldn't even have her daughter's company regularly.

Then, having never thought about it before, and surprising herself with her own words, Misty answered, "No. I'm not going to stay here." An idea came to her, and, automatically, she continued, "When Ash and I got married and Cameron was born, my pokemon journey ended. I never got to finish it. I never got to catch more water pokemon, or defeat any gym leaders, or… anything. It was just over."

Mewtwo was watching her in silence, and Misty wondered what he was thinking. His blank expression made her somewhat anxious. _Oh well, _Misty decided, _this is _my_ life. I don't care what he thinks about this plan. It feels right, so I'm going to do it. _Never mind that she hadn't even spoken to Ash and Brock, her preferred traveling companions, about this idea yet. _But I have a feeling they'll feel exactly the same way I do, especially after that battle today, _she thought.

"So I'm going to finish it with my friends," Misty concluded. "I want to go to a place I've never been before— like the Orange Islands, or even the Johto region! I want to become an even better, stronger trainer, so that, with my pokemon, I can protect myself from now on!"

Once again, Mewtwo did not verbally respond, so Misty was left to guess what he was thinking. _He probably won't want me to go, _she thought, her excitement fading a little.

Surprisingly, Mewtwo's response wasn't what she had expected.

"Perhaps that is your path," he said, "perhaps… that is your destiny."

Silent once again, the two watched as the last sliver of the sun disappeared behind the horizon and the sky gradually darkened to a deep shade of violet.

As the first of the stars made an appearance in the vast night sky, Misty said, "I love you, Mewtwo."

"And I love you," he replied.

Misty gasped as his human body began to transform; his limbs elongated, his slim hips grew into powerful haunches, and the black hair on his head shortened and lightened, becoming a fine, white fur coat.

"Goodbye, Misty," he said, "we will cross paths again… I am certain of it."

"Goodbye," Misty replied, catching a sob in the back of her throat.

Mewtwo pushed off the roof, propelling himself up into the air. Then, giving Misty one last glance, he flew quickly and gracefully towards the horizon, his white form becoming smaller and smaller until he was completely out of sight.

_Always one to leave on the spur-of-the-moment, _Misty thought, smiling and crying at the same time.

The last of the evening sky's violet hue gave way to the deep blackness of the night, speckled with bright, gleaming stars. Misty counted as many of them as she could before falling into a deep sleep.

…

As the last rays of the sun waned, Cameron and Fin lay in the grass behind Saffron Gym. Figuring that the morning's battle had been training enough for one day, they had spent the day catching up on some much needed sleep and healing their pokemon. Cameron's pokemon were all still resting except for Mew, who had insisted on joining her and Fin outside.

"Mew! Mew, Mew!" Cameron groaned; how could Mew have so much energy? It had a lot of nerve telling her to get up and get ready for bed.

"I'm too tired to go to bed," she complained lazily.

"You've been sleeping all day," said Fin. "You should be feeling a little more rested by now."

"Nope."

"I fought the same battle as you, and I'm feeling just fine," Mew commented in Pokemon speech, and Cameron chose to ignore it.

It wasn't actually that she was too tired to go inside; she could if she wanted to. But she was enjoying this moment, lying here in the cool, soft grass with Fin, looking up at the intricate patterns of stars in the night sky. Honestly, she was really happy that he'd been with her throughout the last twenty-four hours. They'd been some of the most challenging of her life, both mentally and physically, and he'd been a comfort to her.

And since she understood him more now, he didn't annoy her… as much.

Cameron gasped as she felt a warm touch on her palm, and she looked over to see Fin's fingers interlacing themselves with her own. Her violet eyes met his green ones for a moment, and her face flushed as she quickly looked away. She thought she heard Fin chuckle softly, and she turned a brighter shade of red.

"Cameron, Fin, look!" Mew called, pointing to the stars.

The two peered upwards and saw a white figure overhead, flying past them at an incredible speed. It was so high up that it was difficult to make out what it was, but, to Cameron and Fin, it was obvious.

"Is that…"

"Mewtwo," Cameron confirmed.

"Wow," Fin said breathlessly.

Cameron rolled her eyes.

"What?" Fin questioned innocently, "I just think your dad's really amazing!"

"Way to compliment a girl, Fin," Cameron retaliated sardonically, "'Your dad's amazing'."

To Cameron's annoyance, Fin laughed at that. "Would it be totally cheesy if I said you were even more amazing?"

Cameron blushed again, trying to appear unaffected by the comment. "Yes. Completely. Don't even try it."

"I don't know… I think I'm going to try it," Fin taunted.

"No! It's stup—"

Cameron widened her eyes in shock as Fin leaned in and captured her lips with his own. She'd never been kissed before, and she wasn't sure how to respond at first until she felt the pleasant warmth of his body and the softness of his parted lips.

Tentatively, she rested her hands on his shoulders and returned the kiss, her heart turning over in her chest. Fin was kind and undemanding, kissing her lightly and waiting for an invitation to do anything more. He must have felt her respond (or read her thoughts), for he brought his hands to her waist and gently held her to him.

Cameron relaxed a little more, allowing her lips to part and enjoying the kiss. After about a minute, she began to feel short of breath. _How am I supposed to breath like this? _she wondered, and she finally broke away, gasping for air.

Fin looked perplexed at first, then burst out laughing. _Breath through your nose, silly, _he projected teasingly.

Her face flushed, and she retaliated, _Shut up! It's not like I have a lot of experience with this!_

_Like _I _do?_

_Well… I don't know._ Cameron didn't really want to think about that now, right after their first kiss… it didn't seem right somehow.

Speaking aloud, Fin softened and said, "Well, for your first time, you were pretty good."

Right now, Cameron wished she could be like her father, hard to read, instead of turning bright red after every single one of Fin's comments. Giving up on trying to hide her blush, she said awkwardly, "Thanks."

_Maybe, since I'm staying and training here, we'll have some more opportunities to practice, _Cameron hoped. As punishment for crashing the party at the club the night before her birthday, Mewtwo and Misty had sentenced her to another month of training with Sabrina and Fin. But even if they hadn't made her, she'd probably have wanted to stay longer anyway.

"I hope so too," said Fin.

"Hey!" Cameron protested, and Fin laughed again.

"Like you're one to talk," he said, "you do that to me all the time!"

"Yeah… I guess I do," Cameron admitted.

They kissed again, this time deeper and longer, and Cameron had a strange feeling come over her body that she'd never experienced before. It was… different, but she decided she liked it.

When they broke the kiss, Fin said, "so… there is something I have to ask you."

"Yeah?" said Cameron. She felt a lot less uncomfortable after their second kiss.

"It's about your dad."

"God, what is it with you and my dad?" Cameron questioned exasperatedly. "And by the way, you have great timing."

"Sorry," Fin replied a little more earnestly. "It's just… I've been thinking about it all day. I can't get it off my mind."

"You're forgiven," Cameron said, smirking at him. "What is it?"

"Well, you said Mewtwo is your dad, but… today Ash said _he _was your dad, and honestly, you look more like him than Mewtwo. But you have psychic powers. So… I'm totally confused."

"It is confusing," Cameron admitted. "Well, I'm not positive about this— my mom said this morning that she'd tell me everything soon— but, you know, my dad can shape shift into a human, right?"

"Right," Fin confirmed.

"So… maybe he turned into Ash. Maybe that's why he and my mom… you know. She and Ash did used to be married; I thought he was my real dad until I was eight. So… I guess, in a way, Ash really is my dad. At least… partially."

"Wow," Fin said, furrowing his brow. "That's… really weird."

"Yeah."

Looking at her and shaking his head, Fin said, "let's not talk about your dad anymore. It doesn't matter who your parents are; it matters who _you _are. And I have to say, you're a different girl than the Cameron I met the night before your birthday." Playing with a lock of her hair, he added, "and I think I like this Cameron a lot better."

"I can tell," she replied playfully.

Cameron heard a door swing open somewhere nearby.

"Fin? Cameron? It's time to come inside."

It was Sabrina's voice.

_We'd better go to bed, _Fin communicated telepathically. _It's getting late._

_I guess so, _Cameron replied, wishing she could stay out here with him all night.

"Fin?" Sabrina called again.

"Coming," Fin answered back. Giving Cameron one last quick kiss, he said, "I'm going inside. I'll see you tomorrow… for your training."

She snorted at his subtle wink and scoffed, "Whatever." But she smiled to herself and felt her heart flutter again as she followed him inside the building.

…

As he glided silently across the night sky, Mewtwo wondered if he'd made the right decision.

Relishing the familiar sensation of the chill wind whipping around him and feeling the elation he could only experience while in his pokemon form, flying high above civilization under the lustrous moon, he knew the answer. _This… is my purpose, _he decided as he listened for any prominent human thoughts below, _my destiny._ He would no longer be seen among these people as a monster lurking in the dark, but a hero— one who resides in the light.

Even if he could not entirely purge the world of wicked, selfish deeds, he could play a part in combating the same human nature that had scarred him and plagued him for so many years. He could prevent other pokemon, and even humans, from suffering the same cruel mistreatment he had suffered.

His mind returning to the conversation he'd had with Misty earlier, he thought, _I was wrong about something. _He'd told Misty that what had occurred on New Island should not have happened, but that was incorrect. _If it hadn't been for Misty, _he remembered, _I never would have changed… I never would have become what I am now._

He felt regret tugging at his heels, but he continued to fly onward, hoping it would be lost in his tailwind.

His path from this point on would not be perfect; his largest concern was that Giovanni's body had never been found at Silph Co, which he knew from speaking with Officer Jenny earlier that day. Mewtwo was fairly certain that the ex Team Rocket leader was, in fact, deceased, but he knew that the woman who had assisted him had managed to escape and was still at large. _But perhaps, _Mewtwo thought, _I will be the one to find her… to erase the legacy of Giovanni's evil once and for all._

Now with a goal in mind, Mewtwo accelerated even faster, feeling the sharp, cold wind ruffling his fur, and leaving Cerulean City— and Kanto— behind.

...

AFTERWORD:

Whew... I can't believe "Hybrid" is done. This was a BIG job, guys, and I enjoyed every moment of it. I've never written anything this long before, so this feels like a huge accomplishment. I'd like to thank all my reviewers, particularly **StarWriterWG, Brisenberg, PikaMewGirl, **and** Dilectus **for reviewing regularly. Also, thank you to everyone who favorited this story and its predecessors!

By the way, if you hadn't figured it out already, the titles of the chapters of this fic are the names of Pokemon cards, all from Base Set 1 through Gym Challenge (if you're scratching your head and saying, "huh"? then please disregard this information).

The "Monster" and "Hybrid" playlists will be posted soon, but after those, I'm done with everything related to this series...

...Sort of.

I am in the process of outlining a NEW Pokemon fic, which will probably be posted sometime within the next six months. It will have a much different feel than this trilogy. The title is still TBD, but it will take place in Johto. The main characters will be Clair and Lance (and a few other surprises, which are going to stay surprises until it is posted).

Anyway... Until next time...

~TheFrogFromHell

P.S. Ehem... review! Last chance!


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